Catastrophes have had a more devastating impact on insurers over the past 15 years than in the entire history of insurance. Despite its rapidly developing economies and cutting-edge technological base, catastrophes particularly blight the Asian continent. Natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanoes affect the whole region, from the simplest to the most complex infrastructures, and both the new engines of growth and the largest Asian economies. Consequently Asia, especially China, India and Japan, constitutes a major growing market for catastrophe insurance.

This comprehensive book presents a range of perspectives on natural hazards risk and alternative risk transfer (ART) from academia (such as Beijing, Kyoto and Cambridge universities), government (including the World Bank and Secretary of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India) and industry leaders (see table of contents for the list of contributors).

Risk management in Asia requires a solid understanding of the potential for catastrophic events, the vulnerability of the human, built and economic environments to these events, and the potential for reducing impacts through integrated and properly financed programs. This book focuses on some of the most significant natural hazards such as a tsunami, floods and the natural hazard likely to have the world's largest future financial impact, a Tokyo earthquake. With its breadth of in-depth, expert perspectives it will help you:

• learn from recent catastrophes;

• explore technological directions for enhanced modelling performance;

• increase your integration with enterprise IT systems and identify opportunities for improved data management;

• assess, underwrite and manage catastrophe risk more effectively.

Foreword
Asia Catastrophes and Insurance
Charles Scawthorn, Professor, Kyoto University and Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Professor and Vice Dean, Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University

SECTION 1. ASIA - NATURAL HAZARDS AND INSURANCE INNOVATION

* Catastrophe Insurance: Challenges for the US and Asia
Howard Kunreuther
University of Pennsylvania

* Catastrophe Risk: Japanese Needs, Global Solutions
Charles Scawthorn
Kyoto University

* Liquidity Risks and Natural Hazards Insurance
Masamitsu Onishi, Muneta Yokomatsu, Kiyoshi Kobayashi
Kyoto University

* Earthquake Insurance on Dwelling Risks in Japan
Takuji Imai
Non-Life Insurance Rating Organization of Japan

* Natural Disaster Insurance: Issues and Strategy of China
Peijun Shi, Di Tang, Jing Liu, Bo Chen, Meiqin Zhou
Beijing Normal University; Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management

* Managing Natural Disasters in India: Some Recent Initiatives
Pramod K. Mishra
Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi

SECTION 2: MODELLING ASIAN RISK
* Earthquake Property and Business Continuity Risk affecting Japanese Industries
Shinji Yamada; Kenneth A. Travers, Dennis Kuzak, Rick Clinton, Bob Healy, Mahmoud Khater, Kenneth W. Campbell
ABS Consulting; ABS Consulting and EQECAT

* Flood Risk in Japan: Status Quo and Management Policies
Hirokazu Tatano
Kyoto University

* Urban Conflagration Risk in Japan: Fires in the Case of the Great Hanshin Earthquake
Yoshiteru Murosaki
National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster

* Assessing Earthquake Risks and Exposure for Insurance Portfolios in Asia
Robin Spence; Emily So
Cambridge University, Willis Research Network; Cambridge
Architectural Research Ltd

* Tsunami Risk in Asia
Nobuo Shuto
Nihon University

* Risk Assessment for Crowd Dynamics
Junji Kiyono
Kyoto University

SECTION 3: TOWARDS THE FUTURE
* Innovating Technology for Catastrophe Risk Modelling and Reinsurance
Mark Byrne, Nozar G. Kishi and Andrew Rau-Chaplin
Flagstone Reinsurance

* A Global Perspective on Asian Catastrophe Risk. Case Study:China
David Lightfoot; Ryan Ogaard; James Nash
Guy Carpenter Instrat Asia Pacific, Guy Carpenter Instrat, Guy Carpenter Instrat Asia Pacific Japan Inc

* Governance of Global Critical Infrastructure Systems under Natural Disaster Risks
Norio Okada
Kyoto University

* OpenRisk: Access for the Insurance Industry
Keith Porter; Charles Scawthorn
University of Colorado, Kyoto University

* The Role of Government in Provision of Catastrophe Insurance
Eugene N. Gurenko
World Bank