The Federation of European Risk Management Associations has launched a taskforce to tackle the issue of BI cover for catastrophic risks and is inviting dialogue with all relevant stakeholders, including companies, insurers, brokers and government bodies.

The group is seeking an "holistic solution that provides cover for non-damage business interruption for all types of catastrophe risks, not just pandemic".

“Our aim is to support the creation of economies that are resilient in the face of systemic and catastrophe risks,” said president of the association, Dirk Wegener.

“FERMA’s member associations are composed of people with great knowledge of business risk management and business insurance. We intend to draw on that expertise to make concrete proposals to form the basis of discussions with stakeholders.”

The absence of business interruption cover without a requirement for physical damage – or non-damage BI – affects all sizes of business, and especially SMEs. FERMA says their effects are beyond the resources of the private insurance industry and enterprise risk management alone.

“Any catastrophe mechanism for business interruption must be able to respond to various types of disaster, address the complexities of catastrophes and avoid the pitfalls of existing schemes," Wegener concluded.

The group's initial findings are scheduled for publication by the end of this month.

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