IDB Contracts with ABS Corporate Solutions/EQECAT for Cat Project

ABS Corporate Solutions, and its affiliate EQECAT, Inc. announced that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has signed a contract for a catastrophic risk analysis project focusing on Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru and Jamaica.

“The analysis will be used to develop risk management strategies that help countries reduce preventable losses from disasters as well as safeguard the effectiveness of the Bank’s development assistance,” said the bulletin. No financial terms were disclosed.

“Under the agreement, ABS Corporate Solutions and EQECAT will provide analyses designed to identify important disaster risk issues in the context of development priorities for each of the four countries and assist the countries and the IDB in understanding risk management priorities,” the announcement continued. “These assessments will inform the IDB’s country strategies, which include issues related to various sectors such as infrastructure and education and help identify and quantify risks associated with IDB’s lending portfolio.

“The primary components of the evaluation include developing a disaster risk profile to quantify the potential impact on public and private assets from an array of natural and man-made perils, as well as identifying government risk management priorities; assessing current risk management strategies and capacity to manage disaster risk in the context of development priorities; and, identifying IDB’s portfolio exposures to natural hazards, and the potential implications for the Bank’s efforts.”

“These components are critical to providing the necessary recommendations for implementing an effective program designed to improve the IDB’s ability to help countries anticipate and manage a range of relevant catastrophic risks which could pose a threat to development in the region,” explained Kenneth Travers, senior VP, ABS Corporate Solutions.