Swiss Re joins red cross group, comments Pakistan earthquake

Swiss Re and seven other companies, including Zurich Financial Services, recently became founding members of the ICRC Corporate Support Group initiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC Corporate Support Group was formed in order to support the ICRC’s global humanitarian endeavours. Peter Forstmoser, chairman of the board of Swiss Re, says the Company’s new long-term partnership with the ICRC exhibits its commitment to social responsibility part of the Company’s Corporate Philosophy.”The ICRC has been leading the way in helping the victims of catastrophes and conflict for over 140 years,” Forstmoser says. “Respect for humanitarian values is indispensable to our society’s sustainable development. And Swiss Re, as a leading global reinsurer, has made a commitment to sustainable development and thus wishes to support the ICRC.”Swiss Re will pledge a substantial sum to the ICRC over the next six years and these funds will assist the ICRC in continuing its work and finance further education and training for ICRC staff. Furthermore, this partnership will facilitate the sharing of information related to risk management, human resources, logistics, IT and communication between the ICRC and the partner companies. This new group represents the first institutional and long-term cooperation agreement between the ICRC and the private sector. The ICRC is one international relief agency that was recently mobilized in response to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck India and Pakistan on Oct. 8, 2005, killing an estimated 20 to 40 thousand people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.The earthquake centerd in the Kashmiri border area between India and Pakistan with the worst affected region being in and around the town of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir close to the line of control with India. Muzaffarabad was badly damaged and surrounding villages were flattened. Although the destruction is widespread, substantial insurance claims are not expected to result. A spokesmen for Swiss Re, founding member of ICRC Corporate Support Group, says although the damage still has to be assessed, the facts of the region indicate that the density of insurance is low and therefore “sadly, it is unlikely to be an insurance loss of any magnitude.” Insurance shares will not be affected by the earthquake’s damages because of the low rate of policyholders. Government officials for Pakistan say the country’s economy is capable of absorbing the costs because remote areas were the worst-affected.