Building a Disaster-Resilient Society

I’m Mika Nabeshima, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Tokio Marine Group.

I want to share with you a bit about our commitment to building a more resilient society.

Tokio Marine was founded back in 1879 in Japan, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.

From earthquakes and typhoons, to the very first automobile accidents, to modern cyberattacks, we have a 145-year history of preparing for and responding to the emerging risks of each era.

The reality of our modern world is that the frequency and intensity of natural disasters is increasing.

As a direct consequence, we are witnessing a widening gap between those who have the necessary coverage and those who don’t.

We have to respond to those evolving and emerging risks in order to deliver on our purpose: To be there for our customers and society in their times of need.

But being there for people isn’t just about handling claims. We need to be present during all phases of risk management, from preparedness and mitigation, to response, all the way through recovery.

Doing so is how we bring value to our customers, inspiring confidence and accelerating progress as we build a better tomorrow.

Confidence stems from two things: Having the right insurance coverage, and knowing everything has been done to minimize the impact major events will have on businesses and communities.

Let me share some examples.

We use cutting-edge sensors and predictive analytics to try to anticipate where disasters will strike, and how much damage they might do.

By sharing this information with our clients, institutions, and the public, we are working to spread preparedness throughout society.

But even the best technology can only go so far.

Good disaster response also requires people to be prepared. To know how to act in the event of major disasters like earthquakes or floods.

That’s why we offer educational programs about disaster response to children and communities.

Once a disaster actually strikes, speed of response is critical. We use the latest satellites and drone technology to monitor developments and adapt our response in real time.

We also know that recovery begins once those affected have received their insurance payments.

We do everything we can to effect those payments as quickly as possible.

We send employees from other areas to the affected region to assist in assessing damages.

We also set up CAT response offices to handle client inquiries and process claims from remote locations.

Using solutions like parametric insurance, we can even trigger payments automatically based on objective data.

That way, we can deliver on our promise to our clients before they even file a claim.

For communities to recover, we also need to support the rebuilding of infrastructure.

We connect local businesses with specialized services to ensure we can get the economies of disaster-affected areas back up and running.

Even after we have done everything we can to help communities recover, our work is not over.

We go back to the preparedness phase equipped with new data and lessons learned, which we use to bolster and improve our loss prevention and mitigation services.

Continuing this cycle is what allows us to accelerate the progress we make toward weaving resilience into the fabric of society.

Ultimately, one of our major goals for the future has to be reducing the volatility of risks.

Until then, however, we can’t let emerging risks prevent us from moving forward and building a better tomorrow.

Our business is constantly evolving, at the same pace as society itself. Change is part of who we are, and who we have been for the last 145 years.

The only thing that will never change is our purpose.

By working toward a resilient and sustainable future, we will continue to be there for our customers and society in their times of need.