Madrid, 29th May 2014
AGERS XXV Spanish Risk Management and Insurance Congress has been held in Madrid, commemorating the Association’s 30th anniversary. The event marked three decades of AGERS’ work in spreading the word on risk culture, devising risk mitigation systems and supporting the implementation of high quality risk management into businesses of all types.
The congress was attended by more than 300 professionals attached to the various disciplines under the risk management umbrella, from Spain and further afield. Such a large turnout only serves to endorse the growth and vitality of the subject area, not to mention the level of expectation with regards to content, based around the title “Universal Risks in a Global World” and focusing on the emerging risks faced by risk managers in all sectors.
On such a prestigious occasion as the 30th anniversary, the Congress was able to feature the Honorary Presidency of his Majesty King Juan Carlos I, adding significant weight to an already esteemed event.
The day was launched by AGERS’ President, Juan Carlos López Porcel, Director of Risk and Insurance at ARCELORMITTAL España, Alfredo Zorzo, AGERS Vice president I, Head of Insurance for ORANGE, Mario Ramírez Ortúzar, AGERS Vice president II, Head of Risk and Insurance at Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH) and Counsellor Gonzalo Iturmendi, AGERS’ Secretary General and Director of legal firm G. Iturmendi y Asociados.
Next, Juan Arsuaga, Managing Director at Lloyd’s, introduced his Excellency Jaime Mayor Oreja, member of Congress in numerous guises including Minister of the Interior, candidate for the Basque country presidency (2001) among other positions, and Euro MP for the Partido Popular from 2004, who declared the opening of the conference, outlining the importance of the values we live by with a special focus on both our sector and European politics.
The session led by the International Programmes Workgroup, presented by AGERS’ President Juan Carlos López Porcel alongside group representatives Alfredo Zorzo, Ignacio Martínez de Baroja y Ruiz de Ojeda, Risk Manager for HISPASAT, and José Ignacio del Corral Serrano, Director of Insurance for the Santander Group, outlined the conclusions reached by said group during recent months, culminating in the publication of the book “INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE PROGRAMMES” which was handed out to all attendees. The book analyses the difficulties of international insurance programmes in terms of terminology, regulation and taxes, as well as the varying options in structure and management.
After the break, during which solid networking was witnessed, the Head of AGERS, Alicia Soler, thanked everybody for their attendance and highlighted the support of all corporate sponsors. She emphasised their contribution as the catalyst for the ongoing improvement of AGERS’ service to the risk and insurance sectors and encouraged the continuing of the work as well as collaborative learning.
An appealing new initiative was unveiled by Vice president I Alfredo Zorzo Losada and Ana Villanueva Alonso, Medical Director at MAPFRE RE and Head of the Biomedical Insurance Committee. Such project represents another step for AGERS in the field of emerging risks management, another highly debatable subject. This development will have surely captured the audience’s imagination due to the effects of biomedicine in relation to the planning and management of risks.
Following on was the ‘Risk Management in Corporate Enterprises’ Panel, moderated by AGERS Vice president II, Mario Ramírez Ortúzar. Various concepts, functions and the particular role of the risk manager were discussed, with the panel seeking to gain the perspective from the insurance, finance and industrial sectors. One such contributor was José Andrés Acebo Niño, Manager at Ernst & Young, whose presentation addressed the new regulatory environment which European insurance companies find themselves in after the implementation of ‘Solvency II’, and its impact from a risk and insurance managers’ point of view.
Alberto Esteban, Director at KPMG specialising in risk management, reviewed the relationship between risk management and the business plan/strategy, stating that effective risk management is essential in order to understand a company’s risk profile. Then, Fernando Caballero de la Sen, Managing Director of AON Global Risk Consulting, examined the data obtained from the last AON Global Risk Survey, whose key reflection was the clear shift from a transactional vision (insurable risks) towards a more global vision (ERM), underlining a more strategic role for risk managers within corporate enterprises.
The various presentations and debates succeeded in relaying several messages to the audience, such as the opportunities found within organisations, the new regulatory changes and the trends which will trigger the implementation of new internal control measures within companies.
The final panel, focusing on Natural Disaster Prevention and the actions against said occurrences, was formed by Antonio Salgado Gorostizaga, Director of Transport at MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS, Roberto Revenga Penelas, Managing Partner of the ADDVALORA Group and Alfonso Manrique Ruiz, Deputy Director of Evaluations at the Insurance Compensation Consortium. The main topics included the importance of appropriate planning and analysis as the only way of treating catastrophic risks. The panel was moderated by Cristina Gil Olmo, Head of Risks at BARCELO, who drew special attention to the situation faced by Spanish companies with interests overseas.
The XXV Spanish Risk Management and Insurance Congress was closed by Julia Graham, President of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), joined by María Isabel Martinez Torre-Enciso, member of both the AGERS and FERMA Board of Directors. Both ladies, speaking from a European perspective, delivered a glowing assessment of the strong bond between the two associations and also discussed the common challenges faced by risk managers across the continent.
Dr. Fabrice Chouty, President of the International Committee for Insurance Medicine, together with Ana Villanueva Alonso, Head of the Biomedical Insurance Committee, thanked AGERS for its support and initiative with regards to the new project.
AGERS’ President, Juan Carlos López Porcel, then showed his appreciation for the participants’ loyalty throughout the three decades of the association’s existence, inviting them to share another 30 years in the fascinating world of risk management.
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