Pascal Dubois, Chairman of the Loss Prevention Committee of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), at the annual conference of this union held today in Rotterdam, pointed out the necessity for marine insurers to shift their approach towards preventing damages instead of repairing them. Dubois stated that with the increasing complexity of risks and rising insurance costs, there is a greater need to emphasize damage prevention.
Shifting the Approach to Prevention
Dubois said at the conference: "At a macro level, countries are increasingly realizing that merely allocating capital will not be sufficient to cope with climate change. Prevention has now become an important component of public policy that helps control costs associated with climate change. This includes reducing the impact of events such as wildfires and floods."
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He also emphasized that this shift in approach means preventing an event from occurring or limiting its impact, rather than just repairing the damage caused by it. Dubois believes that marine insurers should pay attention to this global transition from "repair" to "prevention."
Developing Loss Prevention Activities
Dubois acknowledged that marine insurers are currently engaged in extensive loss prevention activities, but he believes these activities need to be further developed in light of the increasing complexity and uncertainty of risks. He predicted that loss prevention activities would particularly expand in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector.
He added: "Today, for an insurer, the issue is not just price and terms, but increasingly includes integrating loss prevention into the insurance offering, and this trend will expand across all elements of our industry."
Dubois also expects that marine insurers will invest more in prevention capabilities in the coming years and gain greater access to technical expertise and loss prevention specialists.
The role of IUMI is to raise awareness about systemic risks in the global marine insurance community and encourage insurers to develop and implement effective prevention programs within their organizations. This union also provides specialized guidance on emerging risk issues.
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