Insurance Steps Up To Aid Tsunami Victims
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service, Jan. 3, 1:05 p.m. EST?While insurance losses appear to be modest in the strife-torn tsunami region of Asia, some in the industry are wasting no time in lending a financial hand to the victims.[@@]
Maurice Greenberg, chairman of American International Group, announced the Starr Foundation, which he also chairs, would donate $2.5 million to disaster recovery and humanitarian efforts in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunamis that have claimed close to 150,000 lives in the region.
The Starr Foundation was founded by New York-based AIG's founder Cornelius Vander Starr in 1955.
AIG said it is encouraging employees to contribute through the AIG Disaster Relief Fund. The company said the Starr Foundation would match employee contributions 100 percent.
"The events of Dec. 26 represent a tremendous tragedy, the impact of which will be felt for years to come," said Mr. Greenberg in a statement.
Early last week, Mr. Greenberg announced the formation of the AIG Fund and noted that the company has limited exposure in the region.
Late Thursday, Evan Greenberg, president and chief executive officer of Bermuda-based ACE Limited, said the company has established the ACE Tsunami Relief Fund that will take employees' contributions and match them. He said the ACE Foundation would also make a "significant contribution" to relief organizations.
ACE noted that it did not expect a material loss from the event and would issue updates as more information becomes available.
Allianz Group, based in Munich, Germany, said it is also setting up a special fund for employees to contribute to and announced the company would contribute 1 million euros ($1.35 million U.S.) to the fund. The money is to be distributed to relief organizations at some point.
"This catastrophe is above all a human tragedy. We are doing all we can to help victims as much as possible," said Werner Zedelius, Allianz board member responsible for the Asia-Pacific region in a statement.
The company said a number of relief teams manned by company representatives in the region are helping with aid efforts, including a medical team that was dispatched to Phuket, Thailand, a tourist destination heavily damaged by the tsunami.
The company said it has been involved with developing "microinsurance" in a joint effort with United Nations aid agencies and the German government to help develop insurance protection for the very poor in India and Indonesia, two of the affected areas.
The company said it operates in 15 Asia-Pacific markets including property-casualty insurance. A spokeswoman for the company said it does not have a significant exposure in the region. She noted that most of the tourist industry along the coast was not insured.
Allianz is the parent company of Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.
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