The Insurance Association of Cyprus and the reinsurance giant Munich Re successfully organized a workshop on “Insuring High Rise Buildings - Large Projects”. The event took place on October 16th at The Sporting Club in Nicosia.

The workshop was attended by more than 75 participants from IAC member companies and experts in construction related sectors. The purpose of the workshop was the exchange of experiences and views among various stakeholders with an aim to build a common framework of understanding concerning the insurance of high-rise buildings.

The seminar-type lectures on the particularities of high-rise building insurance, the presentations by foreign experts of good practices and failures and the extensive dialogue that followed, helped to inform participants about the risks of high-rise buildings at all stages, from construction to operation, as well as the best approach to address them.

Following the global trend, the development of high-rise buildings in Cyprus in recent years creates new challenges for insurance companies. It is imperative that the services offered are continuously updated, taking into account and making use of latest best practices and know-how available in the world today.
On behalf of the Insurance Association of Cyprus, Director General , Mr. Andreas Athanasiades, who read a welcoming note of behalf of IAC President Mr. Andreas Stylianou, thanked the representatives of Munich Re for their initiative and participation to the conference as well as the Managing Director of E.M. Manos in Cyprus Mr. Ioannis Theodosiou for his interesting approach concerning the construction and operation of high-rise buildings.

Mr. Athanasiades stressed the need of insurance companies to adapt to the new era, encouraging insurance consultants to seek relevant knowledge and information to be able to effectively meet the modern needs of their clients.

In their presentation, the Munich Re representatives Mr. Andi Vossberg and Harald Ochsenkühn stated that "all parties involved should understand in the same way what the insurance policy covers and be aware of the potential complications associated with insuring large projects. Transparency between all affected parties should therefore be ensured."

Mr. Ioannis Theodosiou stated that “the venture of building and operating high-rise buildings may be a new subject for Cyprus but there is a history and tradition in many countries. Knowledge of all stages related to such developments (design, construction and operation) exists and is available. Risk management should not only be aimed to fulfil regulation compliance but should entail a broader and more thorough risk management approach".

The seminar was part of an internal training programme implemented by the Insurance Association of Cyprus. The programme will continue with new events on topics that are of interest to the industry.

Nicosia, 17th October 2019