Insurers, reinsurers urged to improve communications with public (April 01, 2007)

Insurers and reinsurers need to improve communication with both insureds and government bodies to avoid government intervention and pressure from regulators, says Pierre Ozendo, chairman and CEO of Swiss Re America Corporation.

Ozendo met with journalists in a meeting following Swiss Re’s 2007 Canadian Insurance Outlook Breakfast meeting in Toronto. There, he said that although the global insurance industry is experiencing relative economic stability, the threat of public intervention in the rate-setting process remains a concern.

Ozendo said after he returned from a trip to Louisiana, where he had a chance to speak with legislators and regulators about the rate-setting pressures following Hurricane Katrina, he realized the industry has to become a better communicator with the public and its political representatives.

“We have to take a look at the value of what insurance and reinsurance does in an economic system,” he said.

“For example, the insurance industry worldwide is one of the largest investors in fixed income securities – we’re talking about government bonds, we’re talking about local causes that benefit the community,” he added.

In other words, insurance investments can be used as a means to benefit the greater public good. But this aspect of the industry receives little focus, he said.

“A healthy insurance marketplace is not only about covering your house, it’s about insuring there’s some stability for funding public good,” Ozendo stressed.

“This is something that we don’t communicate well enough.”

The problems in Florida with regards to legislation, he said, are largely driven by residential concerns much more than commercial, “so it’s the voter.”