Application of catastrophe loss modelling to promote property insurance in developing countries

Many mega cities in developing countries are exposed to the sources of natural catastrophes, particularly seismic activity. A high level of seismic hazard in some of these places, coupled with a relatively high degree of vulnerability within the built environment, can result in dire human and economic consequences. This paper contains examples of such potentially disruptive factors in relation to Tehran, Iran. It presents preliminary seismic loss estimates for residential buildings in a pilot area of northern Tehran. The paper briefly investigates the effectiveness of risk management measures and loss compensation mechanisms before assessing the feasibility of an insurance‐based risk transfer instrument for managing potential seismic losses among residential buildings in Tehran. It goes on to suggest how probabilistic catastrophe loss modelling can help local insurers to manage their portfolios and facilitate risk sharing among insurance companies and households. Finally, the paper addresses the question of how catastrophe loss modelling can help to strengthen the penetration of property insurance in developing countries.     

巨灾保险衍生品

巨灾保险衍生品将巨灾风险引入资本市场，扩大了巨灾保险的融资渠道，增加了保险市场的承保能力，已经成为巨灾保险的重要补充手段之一。系统总结了巨灾保险衍生品的发展过程，介绍了几种较常见的巨灾保险衍生品。由于我国巨灾保险正处于探索阶段，建议借鉴发达国家和地区的巨灾风险管理经验，将巨灾保险衍生品作为补充手段，推动我国巨灾保险的发展。     

应对闽南4市地震损失的金融手段

随着我国经济和社会的快速发展,人口和财富的密度越来越高,地震造成的损失也越来越严重。应用金融手段可以使地震风险与资本市场充分融合,缓解其给个人和社会造成的冲击。依据闽南地区4个重要城市的震害预测成果,讨论了如何应用地震保险和巨灾债券等金融手段减轻泉州海外未来大地震可能造成的损失。     

Valuing floodplain protection and avoidance in a coastal watershed

Flood‐related losses in the United States are increasing despite large‐scale mitigation efforts. To offset the rising cost of floods, the US Congress passed legislation in 2014 that will augment insurance premiums to make the National Flood Insurance Program more actuarially sound. Consequently, there is interest in lowering flood‐related costs to the homeowner, both in terms of premiums and damage. This study addresses the issue by integrating premium savings and damages avoided based on several mitigation scenarios. Specifically, it examines how much policyholders within a watershed near Houston, Texas, could have saved between 1999 and 2009 had their communities introduced specific avoidance‐based mitigation activities. The results indicate that homeowners and communities can offset premium rises and a majority of the damage suffered through marginal expansions of such initiatives. However, the costs associated with their implementation could counter some of these savings, and hence they need to be considered in future work.     

灾难模型化及其国外主要开发商

简略分析了灾难模型化和它在保险业中的应用;介绍了当前国外从事灾难模型化的主要研发单位,包括独立的模型化公司、大学研究所、再保险公司、再保险中介经纪公司和政府机构。同时收集了一些最近灾难模型化些文献,希望这些信息能有助于同行在我国减灾保险方面的研究。     

巨灾风险评估模型的发展与研究

巨灾已经成为全球经济损失的重要原因之一。近20年来,巨灾频繁发生,造成了重大的人员伤亡和财产损失,巨灾的发生甚至可能造成国家政治经济的不稳定。因此如何进行巨灾风险管理并减轻巨灾事件发生后所造成的损害,便成为一个相当重要的研究课题。巨灾风险评估模型作为应对巨灾风险最为有效的分析工具,近20年来得到了长足的发展,同时巨灾模型已成为巨灾保险设立的根本依据。对巨灾模型的发展与模型构架进行了综述,并结合我国的实际情况提出了一些建议。     

The 2009/2010 Caribbean drought: a case study

The impacts of drought in the Caribbean have not been as dramatic as in some other parts of world, but it is not exempt from the experiences of drought. As a result of the effects of a prolonged drought in 2009/2010, the agenda for the 21st Inter‐Sessional Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) paid particular attention to the issue of drought. This paper reviews the management framework for responding to drought disasters in five CARICOM countries. The paper also reports on some of the effects of the 2009/2010 drought with particular reference to Grenada and the Grenadines. During the drought in these islands there were numerous bush fires with devastating effects on agriculture, severe water shortages that impacted on the tourism industry and other social effects. It is evident that there was inadequate preparation for the event. Greater planning and investment are therefore required to reduce future impacts.     

‘Are you prepared?’ Representations and management of floods in Lomanikoro,Rewa (Fiji)

The islands of Fiji, in the Western Pacific, are exposed to a wide range of natural hazards. Tropical storms and associated floods are recurring natural phenomena, but it has been regularly alleged that Fijians lack preparation, over‐rely on state assistance in post‐disaster situations or engage in risky behaviours that aggravate the negative impact of floods. Risk reduction strategies, which are now implemented by government authorities and international organisations, heavily promote the principle of ‘community preparedness’. Both community awareness programmes and capacity‐building programmes are conducted throughout the country in the most vulnerable communities. This paper analyses how the inhabitants of Lomanikoro village, in the low areas of the Rewa Delta, perceive and manage existing flood risks. It examines social and cultural factors that contribute to shape risk response locally—in particular, why villagers may be reluctant to adopt some recommended preparedness measures and resettle in higher, safer zones.     

内蒙古雪灾保险费率的厘定——基于自然灾害系统理论的研究

中国巨灾保险赔款占直接经济损失的比率比国际平均水平低的多,2008年初南方雨雪冰冻灾害和"5.12"汶川地震两次巨灾过后,国家加紧推进巨灾保险体系的建立。其中,巨灾保险费率厘定是基础。基于自然灾害系统理论,构建了以危险性曲线和脆弱性曲线为核心的巨灾风险保险费率厘定方法体系,改进了以往农业保险仅从致灾因子角度厘定费率的片面性。最后,借鉴美国洪水保险、日本地震保险以灾种为对象(而非承灾体种类为对象)构建巨灾保险体系的优势,以雪灾保险为例,厘定了内蒙古12盟市雪灾保险费率。结果显示,位于中部地区的锡林郭勒盟雪灾保险费率最高,为3.10%;位于西部地区的阿拉善盟、乌海市雪灾保险费率最低,为1.09%。     

当前我国巨灾经济损失补偿机制的探讨

我国是世界上遭受自然灾害最严重的国家之一,自然灾害每年都给我国财政与保险业带来巨大的压力,财政补偿和保险补偿能力不足的弊端已经显现。因此,积极探寻新的巨灾损失补偿机制已经成为我国经济发展的迫切要求。首先对我国目前自然灾害所造成的经济损失情况进行了介绍;以地震和洪水为例,对灾情进行了论述;对我国当前主要采用的巨灾损失补偿机制存在的问题进行了讨论,并对巨灾风险证券化的优势作用以及在我国的实施提出了一些观点与建议。     

引入火灾保险后消防投资经济性的评价模型

在西方发达国家,业主为减轻火灾发生后的实际损失,在火灾发生之前会主动采取火灾风险管理措施,而火灾保险是其中的重要部分,这也是我国今后火灾风险管理的发展方向之一. 通过购买火灾保险,业主将火灾损失的一部分或全部转移到保险公司,但业主需每年向保险公司交纳一定数额的保险费.购买火灾保险之后,消防投资经济性的评价模型会发生一些改变.本文基于经济性学的基本理论和方法,对这些新模型进行了较为全面的研究,为投资者做出科学合理的决策提供指导和帮助.     

Sovereign financial disaster risk management: The case of Mexico

In 2006, Mexico became the first transition country to transfer part of its public-sector natural catastrophe risk to the international reinsurance and capital markets. The Mexican case is of considerable interest to highly exposed transition and developing countries, many of which are considering similar transactions. Risk financing instruments can assure governments of sufficient post-disaster capital to provide emergency response, disaster relief to the affected population and repair public infrastructure. The costs of financial instruments, however, can greatly exceed expected losses, and for this reason it is important to closely examine their benefits and alternatives. This paper analyzes the Mexican case from the perspective of the risk cedent (the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), which was informed by analyses provided by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The rationale for a government to insure its contingent liabilities is presented along with the fiscal, legal and institutional context of the Mexican transaction. Using publicly available data, the paper scrutinizes the choice the authorities faced between two different risk-transfer instruments: reinsurance and a catastrophe bond. Making use of IIASA's catastrophe simulation model (CATSIM), this financial risk management decision is analyzed within the context of a public investment decision.     

Sovereign financial disaster risk management: The case of Mexico

In 2006, Mexico became the first transition country to transfer part of its public-sector natural catastrophe risk to the international reinsurance and capital markets. The Mexican case is of considerable interest to highly exposed transition and developing countries, many of which are considering similar transactions. Risk financing instruments can assure governments of sufficient post-disaster capital to provide emergency response, disaster relief to the affected population and repair public infrastructure. The costs of financial instruments, however, can greatly exceed expected losses, and for this reason it is important to closely examine their benefits and alternatives. This paper analyzes the Mexican case from the perspective of the risk cedent (the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit), which was informed by analyses provided by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). The rationale for a government to insure its contingent liabilities is presented along with the fiscal, legal and institutional context of the Mexican transaction. Using publicly available data, the paper scrutinizes the choice the authorities faced between two different risk-transfer instruments: reinsurance and a catastrophe bond. Making use of IIASA's catastrophe simulation model (CATSIM), this financial risk management decision is analyzed within the context of a public investment decision.     

Innovation in risk transfer for natural hazards impacting agriculture

Agricultural income from growing crops is susceptible to a variety of risks—the price of output and the actual amount of output are generally the largest risk variables. This article focuses on yield risk rather than price risk by reviewing innovation in risk transfer for natural hazard risk in agriculture. While many higher-income countries have long-standing crop insurance programs, these programs are not appropriate for lower-income countries. Lower-income countries can ill-afford the subsidies that are used in most multiple peril crop insurance programs throughout the world. Still, lower-income countries have large numbers of small farms increasing the need for agricultural insurance to protect against common problems that create disastrous losses for many individual farm households.     

Tracking progress on the economic costs of disasters under the indicators of the sustainable development goals

The Sustainable Development Goals indicator framework identifies as an indicator of progress the objective of reducing disaster losses as a proportion of global gross domestic product. This short analysis presents data on this indicator from 1990. In constant 2017 US dollars, both weather-related and non-weather related catastrophe losses have increased, with a 74% increase in the former and 182% increase in the latter since 1990. However, since 1990 both overall and weather/climate losses have decreased as proportion of global GDP, indicating progress with respect to the SDG indicator. Extending this trend into the future will require vigilance to exposure, vulnerability and resilience in the face of uncertainty about the future frequency and magnitude of extreme events.     

中国财产保险业巨灾损失赔付能力实证分析

商业保险是社会化巨灾风险分散机制的重要组成部分,要在中国现阶段巨灾事件频发的复杂环境中构建合理的损失分摊机制,不能不考虑以损失补偿为主要功能的财产保险业应对巨灾损失的能力。在Cummins、Doherty和Anita的保险赔付能力度量模型框架及改进后的损失对数正态分布假设下,引入1998～2008年中国财产保险业经营数据,对2009年初时点上在中国大陆经营财产保险业务的39家财产保险公司及全行业巨灾损失赔付能力进行了实证分析。结果显示,由于全行业资本与盈余的低水平以及再保险市场发展的严重滞后,在1 200亿到2 000亿元的损失区间内,中国财产保险业的赔付能力缺口在26.8亿到815.6亿元之间,且缺口增长速度大于损失增长速度。通过与2008年初的赔付能力实证分析结果对比发现,灾害频发的2008年客观上显著降低了中国财产保险行业应对极端损失的能力。度量结果从实证基础上昭示了政府大力扶持和参与巨灾保险体系建设的必要性和紧迫性。     

粮食巨灾保险的定价研究——以我国稻谷巨灾保险为例

准确厘定了粮食巨灾保险的费率,系为政府保险支农政策的制订提供技术支持。巨灾事件属于极值事件,故巨灾保险的费率可基于极值理论进行厘定。按照费率厘定的参数法思路,以广义帕累托分布(GPD)作为粮食灾损数据的尾部分布,采用极大似然法估计其参数,进而厘定粮食巨灾保险的纯费率。以稻谷为例,厘定了我国各省(市、区)稻谷巨灾保险的纯费率。应完善法律法规就粮食巨灾保险加以明确,同时加大政府的政策扶持力度,对不同省(市、区)的稻谷巨灾保险参照其纯费率给予有区别的保费补贴,并给予粮食主产区的稻谷巨灾保险更充分的优惠政策。     

基于保户和保险公司共享的最佳巨灾保险

采用数学模型方法研究巨灾保险,提出了保险合同怎样创新的问题.该问题的提出有利于解决巨灾保险供应不足的弊端.对保户而言,这一创新将拥有更大的弹性,进而改善其福利.通过分解巨灾风险发生的频率和损害程度,说明了保险合同怎样设计才对保户最有利.最后,在同时考虑风险发生的频率和严重性的情况下,得出了一般化模型.     

中国未来10～15年地震灾害的风险评估

中国是世界上地震灾害损失最严重的国家之一，全国５０％以上的城市和７０％左右的大中城市位于７度及以上烈度区内．地震的发生给中国社会带来了很大的危害和损失，主要的损失分布在以北京为中心的首都圈地区和云南－四川－陕西－内蒙古相连的南北带上，另外新疆的西北部也是地震损失较大的地区．所谓地震灾害风险是指建立在各地防震减灾能力基础上的未来地震损失估汁，风险的特征是具有一定的不确定性．从中国的实际情况来看，东部沿海地区、首都圈地区及内陆的个别地区防震减灾能力较强，而未来地震危险性则以中国西部地区和华北地区为主．通过对中国未来１０—１５年地震风险的研究，可以认为，中国的东部地区虽然有一定的地震危险性，但由于其经济发达，减灾能力很强，因此未来地震造成巨大损失的风险较小；中国的中部（南北带）和西部地区地震危险性很大，同时经济欠发达，减灾能力较差，因此未来地震造成巨大损失的风险很大．     

Constructing a holistic approach to disaster risk reduction: the significance of focusing on vulnerability reduction

As a result of the increase in natural disaster losses, policy‐makers, practitioners, and members of the research community around the world are seeking effective and efficient means of overcoming or minimising them. Although various theoretical constructs are beneficial to understanding the disaster phenomenon and the means of minimising losses, the disaster risk management process becomes less effective if theory and practice are set apart from one another. Consequently, this paper seeks to establish a relationship between two theoretical constructs, ‘disaster risk reduction (DRR)’ and ‘vulnerability reduction’, and to develop a holistic approach to DRR with particular reference to improving its applicability in practical settings. It is based on a literature review and on an overall understanding gained through two case studies of post‐disaster infrastructure reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka and three expert interviews in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.