Insurance and Reinsurance For Natural Catastrophe Risk – I. International Insurance Symposium

Since the end of 2004, the Association has been organizing national and international symposiums and conferences where the problems of the sector and solution proposals can be discussed with government authorities, bureaucrats, academicians, sector managers, and foreign specialists in order to make the Turkish insurance sector achieve a competitive structure, have steady growth, be represented in all platforms in the European Union and in other countries, and to present theAssociation and the sector, and develop existing relations.

In this context, on 8-9 December 2005, the First International Insurance Symposium entitled, “Insurance and Reinsurance for Natural Catastrophe Risk” has been organized in cooperation with the World Bank and ourAssociation.

From various countries of the world nearly 100 foreign and 150 Turkish insurers, reinsurers, reinsurance brokers, decision makers, managers of natural catastrophe funds, related institution representatives, and academicians have participated in the conference. During the symposium they have discussed the risk management systems for worldwide natural catastrophes with the cooperation of insurance and reinsurance sectors and private sector. Many speakers from China,
Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Taiwan, Iran, Romania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey have attended the symposium and they made presentations on how to finance the risk of natural catastrophes in their home countries, and on the developing methods to present simple insurance products to the householders.

The symposium on “Insurance and Reinsurance for Natural Catastrophe Risk” has great importance as it handles one of the most important items of the world agenda that is natural catastrophes and how to finance these catastrophes in the international realm. In this regard, theAssociation has
prepared this book in order to share the presentations made during the symposium with more people.

We wish that this book which is comprised of all the presentations that have been presented during the First International Symposium entitled “Insurance and Reinsurance for Natural Catastrophe Risk” organized in cooperation with the Association and theWorld Bank, will be fruitful for everyone who is interested in this area.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suna OKSAY
Deputy Secretary General
(International Relations, Legislation and Projects)

Association of the Insurance
and Reinsurance Companies ofTurkey