WASHINGTON: The chairman of Lloyd's, the world's biggest insurance market, warned on Friday of $100 billion (€77.6 billion) natural disasters in the United States and urged a "radical rethink" of public policy in response to global warming.
At the same time, Lord Peter Levene said in a speech, the insurance industry plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy and should be allowed continued operation without government intervention or controls. "Is the United States a nation in denial?" Levene asked. "Two years after Katrina, and two years away from a national election, where's the public debate on catastrophe trends?" "We urgently need a radical rethink of public policy, and to build the facts into future planning," he said.
Lloyd's believes that a "megacatastrophe" in the United States, so massive it would wreak $100 billion (€77.6 billion) in insured losses, is getting closer and "could hit almost anywhere on the Atlantic coast," Levene told a gathering of the World Affairs Council of Washington.
While Lloyd's is planning actively for such a disaster, Levene said, "I seriously question whether all policymakers, businesses and homeowners are doing so. Society must make some tough decisions and be prepared to change its behavior." For example, he said, policymakers should consider adopting "radical" land use policies in areas potentially affected by hurricanes, floods and other disasters; government aid should not be used to encourage unsound building decisions; and building codes should be improved.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/12/business/NA-FIN-US-Lloyds-Chairman-Disasters.php
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