Munich Re Foundation 2010 report

The earth remains in turmoil. Severe earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, a heat-wave causing massive forest fires in Russia and the hundred-year flood in Pakistan were very clear warnings in 2010 that disaster prevention and management are more urgent than ever. The Munich Re Foundation supported aid projects in Haiti and Pakistan and appealed for donations at home in Germany. However, without sustainable projects for disaster prevention, the aid offered remains incomplete.
 
The demand for microinsurance is greater than ever. Today, more than 140 million people all over the world are covered by such policies. And the interest in our annual international microinsurance conference, which took place in November last year in Manila, is also constantly growing. Five hundred and twenty attendees from 50 countries came to discuss the latest trends and solutions. The conference location had been chosen with deliberation; the Philippines are a shining example of the successful establishment of microinsurance policies.
 
The area of microloans has also been crowned with repeated success for many years. However, the strong growth of this financing tool also has its dark sides, as could be seen at our “world in flux” dialogue forums. In some lands, microfinancing organisations fell into difficulties during the global economic crisis. Important insights gained during the dialogue forums on these problems and other subjects revolving around the economic crisis and development have for the first time been summarised in a small brochure titled “Positionen”. Munich Re CEO, Nikolaus von Bomhard, shared his thoughts with us on these subjects in an interview.
 
Fortunately, negotiations at the COP 16 World Climate Summit held in Cancún at the end of the year did not fail, even though a great deal still remains to be improved. The foundation was able to take the opportunity of the conference to distribute its “Global yet equitable” study. The conclusion of the study gives grounds for hope: the 2°C target can be achieved if it proves possible to establish fair and sustainable processes worldwide. The know-how is there, now it is up to the politicians to take action.
   
Read more about our projects of the last year in our new Munich Re Foundation 2010 report.