AXA addresses disaster risk reduction at the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference in Bangkok

AXA further strengthened its support for disaster reduction initiatives

AXA, a worldwide leader in insurance, today concluded its participation in the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR), an initiative which aims to secure global resilience by designing a global and governmental disaster reduction framework, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2015 (HFA2).

The AMCDRR, hosted by the Royal Thai government in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), from June 22 to 26, was the final Asian Ministerial Conference to discuss disaster risk before governments are to meet in Sendai, Japan, at the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, in March 2015, to adopt a new global agreement.

AXA, a selected member of the Private Sector Partnership of the UNISDR since 2013, contributed to the building of the HFA2 by providing its expertise in risk research and education as well as risk management and prevention. In particular, AXA is committed to two working groups looking at private sector resilience in sustainability and business contributions to design the implementation of HFA2.

Gaëlle Olivier, CEO, General Insurance, AXA Asia; Martin Rueegg, CEO, AXA Insurance Thailand and David Korunic, CEO, Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance made an active contribution at the 6th AMCDRR in order to highlight the company’s risk research expertise and raise awareness on climate mitigation and adaption.

“With Asia being one of the most affected regions in the world, AXA is strongly committed to developing a better awareness and risk management over environmental and climate risks in the region in order to better protect our clients and improve the societies in which we live” said Gaëlle Olivier, CEO, General Insurance, AXA Asia.

During the four-day conference, AXA shared its thought leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction at the following events:

· ‘The Case for Risk Financing and Risk Insurance in Asia-Pacific’; a session that looked at risk financing, risk insurance, the need to integrate risk transfer solutions with risk understanding and mitigation.

· ‘Private Sector Engagement in Supporting Research on Risks”; an AXA Research Fund-led event which considered key scientific insights regarding disaster risk reduction such as migration challenges, socio-economic approaches to Asian urban areas and a territorial approach for post disaster recovery process. The discussion also contributed on how to bridge the gap between science, policy making and the private sector with a focus on the insurance sector.

· ‘Innovative Partnerships for Strengthening Community Resilience in Southeast Asia’; AXA shared the experience of its partnership with the NGO, CARE international, presenting the findings of its two programs “Where Rain Falls” and “Disaster Risk Reduction”, notably in Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia.