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| Friday, 11 February 2005 |
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Lessons of Tsunami, the Worst Natural Disaster by Nalini Coswatte The writer is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, previously Export Finance & Credit Guarantee Consultant of the ADB of the Small & Medium Enterprise Development and Export Expansion Program (SMEDEEP) in Bangladesh and the former Director-General of the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation. When Tsunami hit Sri Lanka and some South Asian Countries on December 26 last year some people including the business community and most underwriters were deeply shocked of this unbelievable event. For decades, underwriters of Export Credit Agencies (ECAs') across the world discussed the issue of non payment by buyers abroad for shipments effected by exporters due to various reasons at fora of the International Union of Credit & Investment Insurers (Berne Union). These reasons include political risks such as war or insurrection in the buyer's country as well as import bans and exchange transfer delays. Any other cause beyond the control of the buyer and the seller were considered, natural disasters at meetings comprising of over 35 ECAs of 45 nations. This led to further discussions incorporating developments to the Omnibus Clause in the Export Payments Insurance Policy by ECAs to provide 85-100 per cent cover to policyholders. When the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan visited Sri Lanka, he observed that, the after effects of Tsunami were even worse than some of the consequences of the World Wars. Natural disasters such as earthquakes in Kobe, Turkey and Iran, floods and tornado in Bangladesh, mud slips in Papua New Guinea and in certain South American countries and forest fires in Australia and U.S.A. have been discussed from time to time by underwriting professionals but the subject of Tsunami never arose. Time has arisen for underwriters of the world not only to exchange views and experiences but also to educate the public of all natural disasters to minimize risks. |
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