Energy - Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

06 News
IN BRIEF
Allianz recently
launched a new marketing
campaign that focuses
on real people in authentic
settings. The
goal is to “share
knowledge” by having
clients share their experiences
and pieces of advice.
The One Campaign
also makes increasing
use of digital spaces and
encourages dialogue.
One thing ... 4 Questions for ...
Allianz “One” Campaign and new
layout for “Global Risk Dialogue”
Dialogue and knowledge
sharing tie in nicely with
the concept of “Global
Risk Dialogue”, which
the reader will note has
Jutta D., Engineer BARD Service GmbH
gotten a facelift. In line
with the new, fresh corporate
design we are
making use of additional
colors and new design
elements. At the same time “Global Risk Dialogue” is placing
a greater emphasis on specific topics, giving space to
a broader range of perspectives and bringing in more external
voices in this spirit of risk dialogue.
© Allianz SE, Germany
AGCS is contributing to the global Allianz campaign with
different motifs from its industrial client base. The first
client to be featured was BARD Offshore as depicted above.
BARD is an Allianz Risk Consulting client currently building
a commercial offshore wind park about 90 kilometers
One thing, if you
want to understand
risk, you need
to get out from
behind your desk.
Know more. Achieve more.
Breaking new ground requires a
trusted partner. That’s why one of
the world’s first deep water wind
farms, BARD Offshore 1, trusts in the
expertise of Allianz Global Corporate
& Specialty – covering the most
complex business risks worldwide.
www.agcs.allianz.com
With you from A-Z
off the coast of the German
island of Borkum
in the North Sea. (For
more on offshore wind,
see article p. 24)
The company recently
erected the 15th wind
tower and is planning
on setting up a total of
80 towers in the area.
The ad shows Jutta D.,
who works as an engineer
for BARD, in a helicopter
flying out to the
first wind towers. Her
advice is: “One thing, if
you want to understand
risk, you need to get out
from behind your desk.”
There will be several advertisements
with different
clients in the
months to come. Should you be interested in participating
please feel free to contact us. The magazine’s editorial staff
would also like to engage in more client dialogue and are
looking forward to your feedback on the new layout as well
as the new structure.
Please feel free to share your input/suggestions/feedback:
agcs.dialogue@allianz.com
Dr. Jürgen Guhe
Dr. Jürgen Guhe took over the Cat Management
department at Allianz Global Corporate &
Specialty on February 15th. The Cat team plays
a central role in the analysis, evaluation and
monitoring of Cat risks, including natural
catastrophes and terror risk.
Dialogue: What exactly does the NatCat
team do?
Dr. Guhe: Actually, it’s more appropriate to
speak of “Cat” not “NatCat”. We deal with nat -
ural catastrophes and terrorism. The Cat
team, as I prefer to call it, has two main responsibilities.
First of all, we evaluate and
quantify NatCat and terrorism risks. AGCS is
active globally and thus faces various threats.
We all remember the earthquake in Chile in
2010 and the most recent floods in Australia
remind us how vast the effects of such events
can be. In many countries there are simulation
models or we apply simplified estimates of
possible loss scenarios. Our second task is to
develop and maintain a limit system for Cat
risks. We are talking about the largest risks for
AGCS, so our estimation and confinement is
critical.
How then does the Cat team work with the
other areas at AGCS?
Dr. Guhe: There are various contact points.
For example, we work closely with underwrit -
ing to gather the right data for our analyses.
Our risk engineers at Allianz Risk Consulting
(ARC) also help developing a firm data base as
they evaluate our clients’ risks on site. The
quality of this data is absolutely essential for
correct modeling and checking Cat risks. In
addition, the results from our modeling are
extremely important for pricing structures,
our internal risk capital calculations and, of
course, reporting to ratings agencies and reg -
ulators.
How does this benefit clients?
Dr. Guhe: We want to be a reliable partner for
our clients. But we can only be a dependable
partner if we manage our concentrations
properly so we can prevail over the long term.
We need to avoid accumulations that exceed
the risk capacity of AGCS. The financial crisis
illustrated how important it is to keep an eye
on these concentrations and manage them in
a disciplined way.
What can we expect from the Cat team in
the future?
Dr. Guhe: First of all, our Cat models need to
reflect the entire risk landscape. We are work -
ing systematically to find gaps and fill them.
Flooding in Germany, for example, is a gap
that was recently closed.
Secondly, we have to make further progress
in terms of data quality since this is critical for
our success. In the context of the restruc -
turing of the European insurance regulators,
known under “Solvency II”, the regulators are
becoming ever more strict in that regard.
Thirdly, the quality of our modeling will re -
ceive a much larger emphasis. There are
competing models from different vendors
and some of them do not take our industrial
risks sufficiently into account. As a result, we
need to examine them thoroughly in order to
determine the best fit for us and adapt where
necessary. Here we are also working closely
with Allianz Re.
DR. JÜRGEN GUHE
Dr. Guhe joined Allianz
in 2001. Before that he
worked as Financial
Analyst at GE Frankona
Re. He studied Industrial
Engineering and
Business Administration
at the University of
Karlsruhe and holds a
doctorate in Economics
from Jena University.
4 Questions 07