PEMBROKE, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 2, 2009--
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) today announced the successful
completion of the "Safe Homes for All" Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum,
held in Washington, D.C. on June 24th. The Forum's principal sponsors
were RenaissanceRe’s affiliate, WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. and the
RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation, together with leading non-profit
organizations Federal Alliance for Safe Homes - FLASH®, the Institute
for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) and the National Housing Conference
(NHC).
The Safe Homes for All Leadership Forum featured a keynote address
from Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the U.S. House
of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, and presentations
from leading low-income housing advocates, environmentalists, disaster
management administrators, community organizations, academics,
scientists, and policymakers. In addition to the Forum sponsor
organizations, numerous other organizations were represented by Forum
delegates and speakers including the Apollo Alliance, American Rivers,
Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Florida Emergency Management Agency, Florida
State University's Storm Risk Center, the Hope Community Development
Agency, the Insurance Information Institute, the National Leased
Property Association, the National Wildlife Federation, Stewards of
Affordable Housing for the Future, Texas A&M University, the Wharton
School of Business's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, and
others.
Neill Currie, President and CEO of Renaissance Re said, "On behalf of
RenaissanceRe and our Risk Sciences Foundation, I am delighted to
express our thanks to the capacity crowd of nearly 250 thought
leaders who participated in the Leadership Forum. We would particularly
like to acknowledge the speakers who donated their time and expertise
to contribute to our shared goals of advancing disaster safety.
“RenaissanceRe is proud to support mitigation initiatives such as the
Leadership Forum series and research programs such as the RenaissanceRe
Wall of Wind, which inform and enhance the catastrophe-oriented
products, services and solutions we’ve pioneered for our customers and
partners since our formation in 1993,” said Currie. “We believe that
investment in mitigation and other policies that proactively reduce risk
represent the most promising means to help all residents of
storm-exposed communities safeguard themselves from natural catastrophes
and, over time, to also reduce the economic hazards faced by coastal
families and businesses.”
RenaissanceRe is committed to researching and developing risk mitigation
techniques and raising awareness of the benefits of effective risk
mitigation. The organization believes that fostering safer, more
weather-resistant communities will not only contribute to reducing
insurance premium costs over time, but will also ultimately save lives.
In addition to the Leadership Forum series of events, the company’s
current mitigation initiatives include the RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind, a
state-of-the-art testing facility that simulates the effects of
hurricanes on full-scale buildings to improve housing construction
practices and identify effective mitigation techniques, and
“StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes™, an educational attraction located in
INNOVENTIONS, in the heart of Epcot®. Visitors to "StormStruck™ can
experience the power of a weather event, while learning how to make
their homes safer from rain, hail, high winds, lightning and more,
through exhilarating special effects and interactive audience
participation. In addition, "StormStruck™ includes a post-show
information area to raise awareness about weather risks, mitigation
research, and recommendations.
Additional information about and presentations from the Safe Homes for
All Leadership Forum, as well as the prior events in the Risk Mitigation
Leadership Forum series, is available at www.mitigationleadership.com.
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a leading global provider of reinsurance
and insurance. Our business consists of two segments: (1) Reinsurance,
which includes catastrophe reinsurance, specialty reinsurance and
certain joint ventures and other investments managed by our subsidiary
RenaissanceRe Ventures Ltd., and (2) Individual Risk business, which
includes primary insurance and quota share reinsurance. RenaissanceRe is
recognized for excellence in the industry through disciplined
underwriting, capital management expertise, sophisticated risk modeling
and responsive client service.
WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. is a U.S. affiliate of RenaissanceRe that
models atmospheric hazards and their impact on property exposures to
create superior risk analytics for businesses. WeatherPredict's team of
advanced scientists draws upon expertise in oceanography, meteorology,
wind engineering, aerodynamics and computer simulation. In addition,
WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. helps lead RenaissanceRe's hurricane risk
mitigation efforts.
Source: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.
Kekst & Company
Peter Hill, 212-521-4800
