Havana hosts Presidential Council and CILA events

Following my appointment last year as Australian representative on the AIDA Presidential Council, I had the honour of attending my first council meeting, which led into the XIV CILA Congress.

The council meeting was at the Hotel National, in Havana, Cuba, on April 7 and the congress was on April 8-10.

The council meeting was very successful, but attendee numbers were impacted by the location. Many European members who would ordinarily attend were absent, which I assume may have linked to the “tyranny of distance”.

However many made the long journey, including AIDA President Jerome Kullmann, from France; Prof Samim Unan, from Turkey; Peggy Sharon, from Israel; Taisto Hujala, from Finland; Ioannis Rokas, from Greece; Pierpaolo Marano, from Italy; Stefan Perner, from Austria; and many Latin American representatives.

After Australian Michael Gill’s very successful presidency, it was Jerome’s first meeting as President and his long years of experience on the council were evident.

With tight time constraints and a tight agenda, Jerome effectively managed the meeting and ensured all key issues were covered within the time available and despite language barriers.

The president’s, secretary’s and treasurer’s reports and working party reports were all accepted.

Much discussion focused on a topic that will resonate with Australian members, the AIDA website. Work will be conducted to develop a new AIDA site. Rob Merkin and Ioannis Rokas will be in charge of its development, with funding approved for this major project.

At the executive committee meeting, Richard Traub, a fellow member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, was nominated and accepted as the new US AIDA representative on the Presidential Council, vested with the responsibility to revive AIDA’s North American chapter.

Tim Hardy, from the UK, and Samim Unan, from Turkey, will support Colin Croly with the increasing responsibilities of the General Secretariat.

Prof Marcel Fontaine, from Belgium, has resigned following many years of service and Jerome is seeking a replacement for him as liaison representative on the Presidential Council.

An issue of much interest at the meeting was the possibility of an Asian regional conference in 2017.

There was much support for the concept on the basis the conference would be linked to a Presidential Council meeting the day before. I stressed there were significant challenges to hosting the event, because it was the first time such a meeting had been considered by AILA/AIDA and it depended on obtaining funding and sponsorship support.

Another issue of interest to AILA members is Australia’s offer to be considered to host AIDA’s 2022 World Congress, following Rio in 2018. It was a very popular bid from those in attendance, but mention was also made that London may bid for 2022 or 2026.

Many had fond memories of the success of the 1994 World Congress in Sydney so there was a high level of interest in Australia hosting the event again, in a city yet to be determined.

Despite reduced attendee numbers, and a long journey to get to Havana, it was a very successful meeting as my introduction to the Presidential Council.

XIV Congresso Iberoamericano de Derecho de Seguros

The 14th CILA meeting was an opportunity for the AIDA working parties to meet, provide presentations and discuss issues of relevance within delegates’ jurisdictions.

My primary focus was climate change and insurance and I had again been invited to present.

My topics were:
• The environmental and insurance implications of fracking – An Australian perspective
• The flood risk – What has changed in Australia?

The Climate Change and Insurance Working Party has for many years operated under the chairmanship of Tim Hardy, but he was unable to attend, following recent, but fortunately very successful, surgery. Prof Hilda Esperanza, of Colombia, was a more-than-capable temporary chair.

A well co-ordinated agenda consisted of six presentations within the allocated time. My first, on the insurance and environmental implications of coal seam gas extraction, was an overview of fracking operations worldwide and the potential risks associated with contamination of underground water supplies.

Consideration was given to environmental regulatory controls and identifying contamination incidents that have occurred in Australia.

The second part of the presentation was on policy exclusions and coverage limitations and a brief analysis of liability policy triggers.

My second presentation was an analysis of developments in the availability and affordability of flood insurance in Australia, including consideration of the scope of flood mapping Australia-wide. The paper focused attention on regulatory reform that included a standard definition of flood and the push for extensive flood mitigation strategies in areas prone to regular inundation.

The presentation included a discussion on the co-operative approach taken by the insurance industry and state, federal and local governments to improve flood awareness and educate the public about flood risks.

Both presentations were in English to a largely Latin American audience through a Spanish-speaking translator. That involved significant challenges, but both papers will be translated into Spanish and made available on the AIDA Climate Change Working Party site on the AIDA website, along with my co-presenters’ papers.

Many thanks to Tim for his unending and tireless support for the working party’s aims and to Hilda and her colleagues for continuing to maintain the momentum and enthusiasm for this important and relevant working party’s activities.