Swiss Re's Ozendo Says Industry Can Weather Financial Storm

NEW YORK--The insurance industry has gone through many financial difficulties, and it will be able to sustain itself through the current financial crisis and come out stronger for it, said Pierre L. Ozendo, chairman and chief executive officer of Swiss Re America Corporation.

Mr. Ozendo made the remarks during the second annual Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation dinner held in his honor Wednesday night in New York.

"As an industry, we have weathered cycles and weathered hurricanes," said Mr. Ozendo. "Swiss Re was there to answer the call after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Many of the companies represented in this room have a long history and came through the Depression and other financial crises. As difficult as this current crisis is, we will emerge from this one with our risk management focus intact, dedicated as ever to providing protection, diversification and financial leadership."

While noting the immense amount of money the industry invests in the economy through paying out claims, he said the obligation of the industry goes beyond paying claims to "an obligation to society and social responsibility."

He said the industry's obligation is to bring its "capital to bear" on many challenges the world faces, adding that this capital is not just financial but also intellectual in nature.

He noted that one area of Swiss Re's focus is climate adaptation--"preparing society for the inevitability of climate change by reducing its current level of vulnerability." He said this work goes beyond creating insurance solutions, but also includes creating risk transfer products aimed at ensuring "the efficient functioning of carbon markets."

He explained that Swiss Re has made its own carbon reductions and is working around the world to help developing economies grow and people in those lands prosper. The company is also assisting in developing plans to help these economies prepare financially for the inevitable onslaught of natural disaster through the creation of insurance-type programs.

The industry has given much, and needs to continue in its giving to help improve the world.

"You have come together tonight to respond to the needs of communities, families and children in crisis," he said. "You have responded in the past, and through your presence here tonight you continue to make a powerful statement."

As part of that statement, the IICF awarded two $150,000 grants. One went to World Cares Center, which develops disaster preparedness in communities, and the other to Institute for Student Achievement, which helps school districts create small public high schools.

The IICF is a charitable organization established in California in 1994 and aims to provide grants to worthy causes.