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Swiss Re’s Edi Schmid highlights need to measure resilience

1st October 2019 - Author: Matt Sheehan

Edi Schmid, Chairman of Swiss Re Institute and Group Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO), has highlighted the need for the re/insurance industry to undertake more research to measure resiliency around the world.

Resilience imageBased on his discussions at the annual reinsurance conference in Monte Carlo this year, Schmid said that topics of resilience and sustainability were the recurrent themes.

Given that the world is currently dealing with a looming economic slowdown, trade disputes, and political tensions, he noted, these areas of focus are not all that surprising.

Indeed Schmid argued that these issues make it “all the more important that we as an industry make prudent, forward-looking and informed choices about risk and resilience – guided by a strategy with long term vision.”

Swiss Re believes that re/insurance industry has a vested interest in tracking societies’ ability to bounce back after setbacks, as well as in measuring the contribution insurance makes to overall financial resilience.

However, Schmid warned, neither of these objectives can be achieved without solid, evidence-based research.

The Resilience Index released as part of the latest Swiss Re Institute sigma report attempts to support these goals by showcasing risk research and knowledge as the foundation of sound resilience-building, he explained.

“The analysis demonstrates that if we know our weak spots and do something to fix them, we stand a much better chance of dealing with uncertainty and coming through adversity unscathed,” Schmid said.

“It points out how sound economics paired with wider insurance coverage can help us bounce back after setbacks and boost growth. And how, by measuring resilience through macro and micro lenses, we’re going to be better able to deal with the risks we’re facing.”

Swiss Re asserts that the Index is an example of how new risk insights can help guide strategic decision-making and identify new growth opportunities for re/insurers and their clients.

Schmid concluded: “This naturally means driving and collaborating on a research agenda where our findings help underpin the right underwriting decisions – and ultimately, where more informed choices about risk and resilience contribute towards a more sustainable future, whether that’s by addressing underinsurance or championing action on climate change.”

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