Ute Werner

The reference installation approach for the estimation of industrial assets at risk

When natural disasters and extreme events such as storms, floods and earthquakes occur, it is not only people, residential buildings and infrastructure that are seriously affected, but also industry. Direct losses to installations as well as indirect losses, e.g., the interruption of production, can cause severe damage to companies and the economy as a whole. For a comparative and quantitative risk assessment, and being a prerequisite for emergency planning and crisis management (e.g., planning of mitigation measures), a financial appraisal of industrial assets at risk is needed. This paper presents the reference installation approach, which is a methodology that allows a consistent and transparent assessment of individual industrial asset values. The results of this bottom-up approach can be used for a detailed spatial mapping of industrial assets taking into account the characteristics of different sectors. [Received 9 May 2007; Revised 31 August 2007; Accepted 11 September 2007]

General Knowledge about Climate Change, Factors Influencing Risk Perception and Willingness to Insure

In two empirical surveys in Germany the link between the information respondents have about climate change and their risk perception of the phenomenon was analysed. We found that a better understanding of the effects of climate change might lead to a decrease of the perceived hazard. In contrast, a high self-declared knowledge about climate change might correspond with higher risk perception. Further factors affecting the risk perception of climate change are gender, experience of extreme weather events and trust in external aid. Surprisingly, information campaigns based on scientific facts are not effective for increasing risk perception and willingness to insure. Higher risk perception might induce higher interest in precautionary measures like insurance.

Risk and IT in Insurances

The risk landscape of insurance companies is quite diverse: it stretches from insurance and investment risks to operational and regulatory risks, not to mention the risks (and chances) involved in generating integrated information technology infrastructures. In this paper, multiple levels of risks are discussed with the most aggregate one comprising the risks of insurance companies and their management. Risks transferred from customers to be managed by insurers make up the least aggregate level.