Willis Teams with US Science Academy to Improve Management of Extreme Events

On the heels of a summit on managing extreme events held last month in Washington, D.C., leaders of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Willis Research Network, part of Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker, pledged to continue exploring activities aimed at increasing the physical and financial resilience of populations to extreme events.

Published on October 19, 2011

Although 2011 has been a notable year for the high human and financial costs of disasters in many parts of the world, plans to hold the summit began late last year when leaders of the National Academy of Sciences and Willis recognized that governments, businesses, universities, and societies need to work together to better anticipate and cope with extreme events.

In September, more than 100 renowned researchers, federal agency heads, emergency-management officials, insurance and reinsurance leaders, and other experts from the public, private, and non-profit sectors gathered in Washington for three days to discuss how to better prepare for and recover from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, financial system breakdowns, energy and food shortages, and other extreme events, including those that may be triggered by climate change.

“In this age of globalization and interdependence of markets, it has become clear that no one sector of society is able on its own to best anticipate and respond to extreme events,” said Ralph J. Cicerone, president, National Academy of Sciences. “We need to leverage our resources and work collaboratively, which is why we are pleased to partner with Willis Research Network in an effort to bring together different sectors to share knowledge and find common ground, with the overall goal of improving our understanding of extreme events and effectiveness in confronting them.”

Rowan Douglas, CEO, Global Analytics and Chairman, Willis Research Network, said: “Managing extreme financial, environmental, and security risks lies at the heart of ensuring the resilience of our institutions, markets, and society. Resilience provides the foundation for confidence, investment, and sustainable growth. These common challenges unify public, private, and academic sectors with a unique opportunity for shared alignment and collaboration.

“We all rely upon science, analysis, and modeling to overcome these challenges and we are privileged to work with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to bring leaders of science, government, reinsurance, and other sectors together, combining expertise and resources in a practical way,” Douglas added.

“Meanwhile, society relies upon the unifying concept of insurance, underpinned by science, to manage and share the cost of extreme events at local and global scales via public and private mechanisms; it is the ultimate community product.”