Global insurance group boosts DRR partnership

GENEVA 9 December 2013 – A global insurance company has provided a significant boost to public-private partnerships aimed at reducing disaster risk.

The Chairman and CEO of the AXA Group, Mr Henri de Castries, signed a Statement of Commitment by the Private Sector for Disaster Prevention, Resilience and Risk Reduction, at AXA’s head office in Paris, during a meeting with the Chief of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Ms Margareta Wahlström.

“The AXA Group is already supporting the work of UNISDR’s Private Sector Advisory Group so it makes sense now to become a full member of the Partnership,” said Mr. de Castries, whose AXA Group has 160,000 employees in 57 countries.

“We are an industry leader and we have a responsibility to share our expertise in crisis management and business continuity to support the provision of new sustainable insurance solutions for businesses.

“We are also engaged in production and dissemination of research into climate change risks with the goal of protecting people, especially the most vulnerable, through the AXA Research Fund programmes and our partnership with the NGO CARE International.

“The AXA Group has a strong commitment to building a more risk aware and resilient society and our collaboration with UNISDR, the global focal point for disaster risk reduction in the UN family, will boost our joint capability to make that goal a reality.”

Mr. Cyrille de Montgolfier, AXA Group Senior Vice-President, European and Public Affairs, said: “It’s both exciting and satisfying for AXA to be an active participant in a global initiative which is encouraging private sector expansion of their risk management strategies to include assessment and planning for the impact which natural hazards are having across the globe.”

UNISDR Chief Ms Wahlström was delighted with the AXA Group’s commitment to a partnership approach to strengthen disaster risk management. “AXA is a very welcome addition to UNISDR’s Private Sector Partnership,” she said.

“The company has a proven track record of support for research into climate change and environmental risks. It was also among the first to adopt the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance last year at the Rio Earth summit.

“The signing of the Statement of Commitment is further evidence of AXA’s long-term engagement with the UN to drive forward a risk reduction agenda which is focused on environmental, social and economic sustainability.”

UNISDR collaborates with the private sector to secure its practical advice and expertise to reduce disaster losses as well as to build capacity in hazard-prone areas.