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FEATURE: Coping with shocks to the system

31 August 2010

Globalisation has opened up a dazzling amount of opportunity for the business world. But it has also produced an unprecedented level of risk for the insurance industry to deal with.

Read more: Trevor Maynard Ian Goldin Lord Peter Levene Lloyd's Andrew Kendrick

Globalisation has opened up a dazzling amount of opportunity for the business world. But it has also produced an unprecedented level of risk for the insurance industry to deal with.

The financial crisis, which spread around the world in a matter of weeks, put systemic risk firmly in the spotlight.

The insurance industry is lobbying hard in an attempt to distance itself from banks, arguing that it should avoid onerous regulation targeted at financial institutions on the grounds that the industry does not pose a systemic threat.

While insurers may yet prove that that the industry is not systemically important, they are also taking note that the financial crisis was only the first example of the systemic shocks the industry will face that are associated with globalisation. From pandemics to supply chain failures, globalisation has exposed businesses to events that happen far away from their head offices.

The threats in...


  • Philippines Earthquake Mw 6.7 06 Feb 2012 - On Monday, 6 February a magnitude Mw 6.7 (regional moment magnitude) earthquake ...
  • Queensland Floods 06 Feb 2012 - Monsoonal rains since mid-January have resulted in flooding in northeast Australia, affecting ...
  • Peru Earthquake Mw6.3 30 Jan 2012 - Updated 1 February. On Monday, 30 January a magnitude Mw6.3 (regional moment ...
For more catastrophe reports, data and news, click through to the RMS/Reactions Catastrophe Centre.

Poll

Catastrophe bond issuance was $4.3bn in 2011. How much new issuance will there be in 2012?

Less than $3bn
0%
$3bn-$4bn
44%
$4bn-$5bn
22%
$5bn-$6bn
11%
$6bn-$7bn
22%
More than $7bn
0%

Quote

If last year was the year of the cat, then this year could be the year of the debt crisis.

Mike Van Slooten, head of international market analysis at Aon Benfield