Geneva Association

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Geneva Association, The


Type Non-profit organisation
Membership A maximum of 80 CEOs from insurance companies around the world
General Secretariat Geneva, Flag of Switzerland Switzerland
Website www.genevaassociation.org

The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics, also known by its short name The Geneva Association, is an organisation formed by a maximum of 80 CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) from insurance companies all around the world.

Its main goal is to research the magnitude of worldwide insurance activities in all sectors of the economy. It tries to identify fundamental trends and strategic issues where insurance plays a substantial role or which influence the insurance sector. In parallel, it develops and encourages various initiatives concerning the evolution – in economic and cultural terms – of risk management and the notion of uncertainty in the modern economy. The very design of The Geneva Association 's logo brings into sharp focus the priority of concentrating both on these "interface" areas of risk, where insurance meets the risk management problems of its clients in all sectors ("micro-economics").

All the Geneva Association 's activities are pursued by means of research, publications and organisation of international conferences, seminars as well as discussions with Nobel Prize winners such as Kenneth J. Arrow, Josef Stiglitz and others. In addition, The Geneva Association stimulates research work in insurance-related fields and risk management through the availability of scholarships, prizes, grants and subsidies for theses.[1] The Geneva Association also acts as a forum for its members, providing a worldwide platform for the insurance CEOs. It organises the framework for its members in order that they may exchange ideas and discuss key strategic issues, especially at the General Assembly where once per year over 50 of these CEOs gather. Moreover, The Geneva Association organises global networks for experts in various fields linked to insurance such as risk management, pension provision, health, regulation, etc. It also manages several extra-company networks of specialists from our members' companies: Chief Risk Officers (CROs), Chief Economists and Strategists, the Accountancy Task Force with CFOs (Chief Financial Officers) and Chief Accountants as well as the Liability Regimes Planning Board with Chief Legal Officers (CLO) and General Counsels.

The Geneva Association is a non-profit organisation and its General Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.[2]

Contents

[edit] Historic Developments

The Geneva Association was founded under the initiative of a committee which met for the first time in Paris on September 22, 1971. This founding committee was constituted by the following people:

The Constitutive Assembly of the Geneva Association took place in Paris on February 27, 1973, at the headquarters of La Paternelle (today part of the AXA Group). The following companies were represented by their President or CEO: Allianz, Münchener Rück, Aachener & Münchener, and Victoria for Germany; Commercial Union, Royal and Mercantile & General for the United Kingdom; Erste Allgemeine for Austria; Royale Belge for Belgium; UAP, AGF, Paternelle, Préservatrice and SAFR for France; Generali, RAS, Reale Mutua, INA and Fondiaria for Italy; Nationale Nederlanden for the Netherlands, and the Swiss Re for Switzerland.

The Geneva Association was established in 1973 for the purpose of promoting economic research in the sector of risk and insurance.

[edit] Membership

Today, the Geneva Association has 80 members from 14 countries in Europe, 4 countries in North and South America, 3 countries in Asia, and 1 country in Oceania. Its members are the chief executive officers of insurance companies in the world and they are members in a personal capacity. The maximum number of members is limited to eighty. Applications of new members shall be examined by the Board of Directors at the proposal of the President and, if recommended, be submitted to the General Assembly for approval by majority vote.[3]

[edit] Key Research Programmes

To study in depth some key questions that appears relevant to insurance activities, the Geneva Association has set up the following programmes:[4]

[edit] The Four Pillars

This programme was launched in 1987. Key areas of research: social security, insurance, savings and employment

  • The limits of the welfare state and the reorganisation of the welfare society, including the demographic issue, which is at the very top of political and economic agenda in every countries

[edit] Health and Ageing

This programme focuses on health issues for people aged between 50 and 80. Key areas of research: health and productive ageing

  • New issues concerning health insurance and with specific reference to two key trends: technological advanced and their influence on the cost of treatments; and increasing health costs and the need for funded systems and their correspondence to similar funds in the life pension sector

[edit] Insurance and Finance

This programme focuses on finance issues where it is relevant to the insurance and risk management sector. Key areas of research: finance and insurance

  • The understanding of the specificities of insurance as a central economic activity in the modern economy. This specificity is key to adequately identifying and adapting the right strategy in the present trend of convergence in financial services

[edit] Risk Management

This programme focuses on the exchange of information in the risk management sector. Key areas of research: risk management, assessment and prevention

  • It is dedicated to foster the use of the tools of risk assessment and risk management in new fields of application; to provide a platform between the insurance community, the engineering and academic communities and policy makers to discuss risk issues; to promote the concept of insurability of risks; and to identify new opportunities for insurers in the emerging sustainability concept in order to enlarge the field of insurable risks

[edit] PROGRES

This programme focuses on the exchange of information on studies and initiatives aimed at better understanding the challenges advising in the fields of insurance regulation, supervision as well as other legal aspects. Key areas of research: regulation, supervision and legal issues in insurance

  • It is dedicated to identify and analyse the current and future developments of the service economy; to gain a better understanding of the role of services, especially financial services; and to investigate the consequences of changes in services for insurance and the impact of developments in insurance on the service economy

[edit] Insurance Economics

This programme focuses on the promotion of contacts at the university level in the field of risk and insurance economics. Key areas of research: risk, insurance and economics

  • It is dedicated to making an original contribution to the progress of insurance through promoting studies of the interdependence between economics and insurance

[edit] Meetings, Seminars and Conferences

To achieve its main goals, the Geneva Association organises or co-organises a number of meetings, conferences and lectures. The most important meeting of The Geneva Association is its General Assembly that takes place every year. At this occasion, key economic issues are presented and discussed with world-renown personalities and key indications and recommendations are provided for the activity of the association. Since 1973, the Geneva Association has been organising an annual seminar for The European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE), in order to stimulate research and teaching in areas linked to economics and insurance.

The Geneva Association regularly organises international conferences which are linked to its research programmes.[5]

[edit] Publications

The Geneva Association publishes and edits a number of journals, newsletters and a series of research working documents such as The Geneva Papers on Insurance - Issues and Practice. This publication was created in January 1976, following a suggestion by the first president of the Geneva Association, Mr Raymond Barre. In 1990, with the development of more theoretical studies on risk and insurance, The Geneva Papers were split up in two series: The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice and The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review (called The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Theory up to December 2004).

The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice rely essentially on in-depth professional business analysis and aim at bridging the gap between academics and practitioners working in insurance. This quarterly journal was published by Blackwell Publishers in London until December 2004 and is now published by Palgrave Macmillan.[6] Conversely, The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review is exclusively devoted to academic-university scholars in economics. It is published bi-annually by Springer.[7]

The Geneva Association also releases a number of other publications. These include The Geneva Association Information Newsletters, published biannually, which relate state of art information on the different research programmes developed by the association.[8] It also publishes the Etudes & Dossiers (10-15 per year) which present in full preliminary and completed research work internally financed.[9] In addition, the Geneva Association has released various books such as Insurance and September 11 - One Year After: Impact, Lessons and Unresolved Issues (in 2002) and Ventures in Insurance Economics - 30 years The Geneva Association (in 2003) as well as studies that have benefited from the support of the association.[10]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Grants. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
  2. ^ Organisational Structure of the GA. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
  3. ^ Statutes of the Geneva Association
  4. ^ Research Programmes. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
  5. ^ Events. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  6. ^ The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Journals. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  7. ^ The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Journals. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  8. ^ Geneva Association Information Newsletters. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  9. ^ Etudes & Dossiers. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  10. ^ Recent Books and Scripts. The Geneva Association. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
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