Andy Souter, Emily Lo and Myrto Papaspiliou on the push to close APAC’s natural catastrophe protection gap
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In a roundtable with The Insurer, Andy Souter, Emily Lo and Myrto Papaspiliou discussed how preparedness and financial innovation are shaping Asia-Pacific’s natural catastrophe resilience.
Andy Souter, Head of Asia Pacific, said: “Preparedness determines vulnerability. Japan’s long-standing investments in quake-resistant construction and storm defences make it one of the most resilient markets globally. Elsewhere, however, population growth, rapid urbanisation and socio-economic pressures leave communities exposed.”
Emily Lo, Head of Analytics, Asia, added: “Preparedness works best when it’s systematic, not selective. Enforcing resilient construction standards, embedding automatic response triggers for surge or rainfall thresholds and ensuring that insurers and governments hold capital for 1-in-200-year events all make a measurable difference.”
For Myrto Papaspiliou, Head of International Catastrophe Model Research, collaboration and learning remain essential. “Every catastrophe is a lesson,” she said. “From Kobe and Christchurch to Ragasa and Morakot, the regions that learn, adapt and institutionalise those lessons are the ones that recover stronger.”