OREANDA-NEWS. October 09, 2015. Dominic Casserley, CEO of Willis Group Holdings plc (NYSE: WSH), the global risk advisory, re/insurance broking and human capital and benefits firm, will today announce a \\$1 million commitment from Willis to help mobilize a global Resilience Modelling and Mapping Forum to address natural catastrophe risk.

The announcement will be made this evening to an audience of more than 500 business leaders convened by BritishAmerican Business, the leading transatlantic business organization.

The Resilience Modelling and Mapping Forum is a collaboration between the global re/insurance industry and other partners, set up to enable the tools and techniques of insurance risk modelling and stress testing to be shared with wider business and society, to increase risk understanding and resilience.

Commenting on the initiative’s importance, Casserley will say, “In partnership with the global scientific community, the re/insurance sector has made enormous progress in understanding and managing natural hazard risks over the last two decades. The Resilience Modelling and Mapping Forum will help open up risk evaluation and early warning systems to all, reducing the damage of extreme weather and helping institutions and communities to close the protection gap.

“For me, there is no more critical time than now for business leaders to collaborate creatively on the challenges our societies face. The task is urgent because the world is getting riskier.

“Natural catastrophes and their ravages are part of our world. It is therefore incumbent on us to take these growing threats much, much more seriously. It is also clear that today we have the means to address these perils in ways that are new and powerful. The Forum is an important part of this.” Casserley will say.

Willis has led a range of high-profile efforts to promote resilience on several levels, including the U.N.-endorsed 1-in-100 Initiative, which promotes using stress tests to help public companies and institutions better understand their financial exposure to natural disaster risk, creating an incentive for organizations to address these growing challenges. Willis also helped in the development of the award-winning African Risk Capacity program, which brings sovereign drought protection to populations in a growing number of nations across the continent.

About BritishAmerican Business
BritishAmerican Business is the leading transatlantic business organization, dedicated to helping companies build their business on both sides of the Atlantic. Its membership brings together the world’s leading multinational and middle market companies across sectors and geographies; and more than 100 of the world’s most successful CEOs support its work through their participation in its Advisory Board. It incorporates the American Chamber of Commerce (UK) and the British-American Chamber of Commerce (USA), which merged in 2000 to create a single, pre-eminent transatlantic organization that could support its members across the Atlantic.

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global risk advisory, re/insurance broking, and human capital and benefits firm. With roots dating to 1828, Willis operates today on every continent with more than 18,000 employees in over 400 offices. Willis offers its clients superior expertise, teamwork, innovation and market-leading products and professional services in risk management and transfer. Our experts rank among the world’s leading authorities on analytics, modelling and mitigation strategies at the intersection of global commerce and extreme events. Find more information at our website, www.willis.com, our leadership journal, Resilience, or our up-to-the-minute blog on breaking news, WillisWire. Across geographies, industries and specialisms, Willis provides its local and multinational clients with resilience for a risky world.