Centre for Natural Hazards to advance insurance in SA

Rudolf Britz, Chief Actuary at Momentum Short-Term Insurance.

The recent 5.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the North West Province, and other looming natural disasters like storms, hail, droughts and floods, demand that the South African insurance industry better understands how to react to disaster recovery through fund management.

In a multi-sponsorship collaboration between MMI Holdings, Aon Benfield and Munich RE, a new model has been developed at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Natural Hazards in Africa to shed more light on this topic. The Centre conducts work and research in the field of natural hazards and risk modelling, with the new model extending its focus to include a broader spectrum of natural hazards relevant to the African continent.

Rudolf Britz, Chief Actuary at Momentum Short-Term Insurance says, “The Centre is positioning itself as a leader in the field of research into natural hazards that could affect human settlements. This research will assist us as MMI to better prepare ourselves for natural catastrophes and to develop solutions that protect our customers against the negative outcomes of such events. We’re very excited about this collaboration.”

Professor De la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria says the reconceptualization of the Centre is aligned with the key principles of the University’s long-term strategy “UP 2025”, which takes cognisance of the national priorities of South Africa. She states that the Centre will still be committed to the promotion of research by postgraduate students and will also involve various other academic departments.

In South Africa, the Centre has performed significant work in understanding the likelihood and magnitude of earthquakes and in coming to grips with the effect of acid mine water on the potential catastrophes around Gauteng.

“The Centre has developed expertise in relations to the needs of the mining industry, and the insurance, risk and disaster management industries,” says Prof De la Ray. “Therefore, the goals of the reconceptualised Centre will take it to the future, not only for the University of Pretoria but also for the country and African region as a whole.”

The Centre, which has over the years partnered with academics from 12 different universities and institutions in five countries, has published 14 research papers in some of the most prestigious academic journals in the world.

Further to this, for six years the Centre has hosted 18 postgraduate students, including PhDs, from a wide array of fields and backgrounds including geology, insurance and actuarial science, physics and geoinformatics.

Britz believes that this is the only way forward if South Africans, especially those living in rural settlements, are to be fully protected from the devastation of unexpected natural disasters. “This is a complicated topic to address, and together with our co-sponsors and the University of Pretoria, we hope to improve the lives of South Africans and help them feel a little more secure when facing unforseen catastrophes.”