Climate and Insurance.org | takefive with Jane Voll

Jane Voll is Vice President, Policy Development and Chief Economist for the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Since joining IBC in 1993, Ms. Voll has worked with insurance executives to develop and advance industry positions on natural disasters, insurance regulation, health care, financial sector policy, auto insurance reform and taxation. She has served on the Canadian delegation for the United Nations’ International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, as an advisor on planning and research to the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Ms. Voll is currently the secretary to IBC’s CEO Steering Committees on Regulation and Insurance Availability.

Ms. Voll is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellow’s program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and holds a graduate degree in economics from the University of Toronto and an honors degree in economics, finance and accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Prior to joining IBC, Ms. Voll worked as an economist at the Ontario Ministry of Finance and as a research associate with a private economics and public policy consulting firm. A former university economics instructor, Ms. Voll is actively involved in the economics and social policy communities. She volunteers her time with professional and social service organizations in Canada and abroad and is currently a director of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and serves on the board of advisors of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, Alberta.

Takefive:
Ms. Voll, can you briefly describe the mission of the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the responsibilities that you have within the organization?

Jane Voll:
As the property and casualty insurance industry’s trade association, IBC represents companies that provide about 90 percent of the non-government P&C insurance sold in Canada and advocates industry positions with consumers, government, members and other stakeholders. It identifies and monitors issues, develops policy positions and responds to legal developments. IBC provides a forum for its members to resolve issues that are important to achieving the P&C insurance industry’s common vision.

The Policy Development department is responsible for the economic, sociological and political analysis involved in the development and implementation of IBC’s positions.

Takefive:
In a recent news interview, you were quoted as saying, “Even if we adopt the most ambitious emissions control, we are left with decades – if not a century – of increasingly severe and devastating weather and related damage to people’s lives and property.” Would you elaborate on what you meant by that statement?

Jane Voll:
In a recent conference on “Climate Change and Insurance” sponsored by IBC and other industry organizations, experts from government, private sector and multilateral agencies that participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argued that even if emissions are reduced to zero immediately, the already-existing levels of greenhouse gasses would take almost a century to dissipate, therefore continuing to fuel changes in the climate that provoke increased severity and frequency in natural disasters.

Nevertheless, the increasing losses from natural disasters that have been observed in the recent past are also caused by:

The combined impact of these long-term trends is making our need for preparedness and adaptation a virtual certainty.

Takefive:
In the same interview, you acknowledged the steady increase in the frequency and severity of weather events and suggested that the federal government needed to develop a new national strategy to help Canadians prepare for and mitigate future disasters. How satisfied are you that the federal government and the provinces are working toward such a strategy?

Jane Voll:
There has been a noticeable shift in the policy from both federal and provincial governments in regard to climate change and improving the resilience of communities to adapt to the disasters that will occur. The acknowledgement of more frequent and severe natural disasters hitting Canadians every year has prompted consultation processes in order to develop a “National Disaster Mitigation Strategy” under the federal government and “Provincial Mitigation Strategies” in some provinces like British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, among others. Unfortunately, the process, which started in 2001 at the federal level, hasn’t been concluded.

Canada and several provinces have a fairly strong record in regard to disaster response preparedness. However, recent worldwide disasters like Hurricane Katrina taught us important lessons that have not yet been fully integrated into our programs.

Takefive:
IBC has been actively involved in helping Canadians become better prepared for natural disasters. Can you describe your organization’s work with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and The Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes?

Jane Voll:
Reducing the potential damages to property and liability are part of the insurance business. Canadian insurers recognized the rising trend of severe and frequent natural disasters, and, in 1998, they partnered with the University of Western Ontario and founded the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).

ICLR is an independent multidisciplinary research institute that aims at conducting disaster prevention research. The Institute has worked on a variety of topics including:

The Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes is a facility in the Faculty of Engineering at Western that has recently received important support from Canadian insurers through IBC.

The Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes uses a typical 1,900-square-foot, two-story house. Studies are conducted in a controlled environment inside a hangar where extreme winds (up to 320 km/h) are simulated using specially designed “pressure boxes” that apply both air pressure and suction to the house. Researchers also study the effect of snow, rain and mold.

This project permits researchers to assess the structural integrity of houses and develop cost-effective ways to retrofit existing houses and build stronger ones in the future.

Takefive:
Finally, can you tell us where IBC is in terms of developing a policy statement on climate change?

Jane Voll:
IBC has formally recognized that the climate is changing. Our position has been to focus on the aspect of this issue with which we have the greatest expertise – investing in adaptation efforts in order to make Canadian communities safer.

To this end, we are funding research to improve understanding and calling on government and other stakeholders to join with us in addressing climate change and making our communities safer.