Organization of American States Summits of the Americas
     
Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates
 

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT: Catastrophic Risk Insurance
MANDATES

  1. We note with concern the increased intensity of natural and man-made disasters and their devastating impact on human lives, infrastructure, and economies in the Hemisphere. We call for action at the national, regional, and international levels to strengthen disaster management programs, including through increased capacity for disaster preparedness, development of early warning systems, risk mitigation and post-disaster recovery, and reconstruction and technical and financial assistance as appropriate, particularly for disaster-prone countries, to reduce the impact of disasters. We also support efforts under way to explore private and public sector involvement in comprehensive approaches to catastrophic risk insurance (Declaration of Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. To substantially improve the capacity at the national, regional, and hemispheric levels for risk mitigation; to implement cost-effective and robust early warning systems, and to enhance disaster recovery and reconstruction capabilities in collaboration with relevant international and regional institutions. To explore with relevant international and regional institutions the coordinated development of effective public-private catastrophic risk insurance systems. (Plan of Action Mar del Plata, 2005).

  1. Request the IDB to undertake a feasibility study in partnership with the OAS, the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and other relevant inter American organizations, as well as the private sector, including insurance companies, on measures to reduce and/or pool risk in a manner that results in reduced premiums on catastrophic insurance, and mechanisms to facilitate contingent re construction financing and the immediate release of funds to resolve urgent needs of the affected country; this study would examine the relationship between re insurance and national and community disaster management capacities, as well as trends toward dis investment and job losses in those economic sectors requiring costly catastrophic insurance coverage and the role such measures might play in this regard; share with the private sector experiences in the development and application of risk management tools such as risk transfer instruments, vulnerability assessment methodologies and risk reduction incentives for the private sector; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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