Insurers must collaborate with public and private sectors and NGO partners to improve the world’s disaster resilience, says KPMG.

World leaders are at present stepping up the issue, with the UN Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating poverty and responding to climate change and strengthening resilience, are set to be finalised by 2015.

Serena Brown, senior manager with the global development initiative at KPMG International, said the private sector must 'join the conversation'. Brown said the role for insurers is vast, as they can embed environmental, social and governance issues into decision-making, and work with partners to manage risk and develop solutions in an accountable, transparent manner.

“The world is looking to the insurance industry as a source of patient capital to fund resilient infrastructure projects, as a source of risk data and risk management expertise to strengthen government capacity, and as a provider of risk transfer solutions,” she said, seeking to "factor integrated disaster risk reduction and resilience thinking into their strategies and risk management frameworks."

A number of insurers have recently collaborated on open-source models, for example building the Global Earthquake Model and the Global Risk Data Viewer led by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

“Insurers have a huge influence, whether as providers of […] risk transfer solutions, or by accurately pricing risk which guides business and governments to make appropriate investment decisions,” she said. “They can invest in climate adaptation, such as renewable energy projects and share their risk management expertise to develop governments’ capabilities to manage complex inter-related national level risks. All of these efforts can help us better reduce, manage and underwrite risk, and keep insurance relevant for the future.”