A greater number of interesting claims were added to the claims collection on our website (the last ones added are always on top of the lists).

Transcription

1 IMIA The International Association of Engineering Insurers TM NEWS SHEET March 2008 Welcome to the 8 th edition of the IMIA News Sheet. 1 News from the Secretariat Since November 2007 there have been several activities in preparing the next conference and for following up current matters at the Secretariat. We also had a number of information enquiries from external interested people and IMIA website visitors, which were answered to our best knowledge and care. Of the few press releases actually published on last IMIA conference, we put one onto our website (Asia Insurance Review Dec 2007, see under Annual Conferences - Press Releases). A greater number of interesting claims were added to the claims collection on our website (the last ones added are always on top of the lists). For the next conference at Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, UK the relevant documents are now on our website (Members Area Conference Invitation Papers). Please be reminded to complete the Attendance and Reservation form for of Hotel reservation soonest and not later than end of April. Reporting from the Working Groups 2008 show that despite some late starts the groups are expected to make progress and are confident to complete their papers on schedule. Very little response was received so far in respect of small papers per Delegate. This action was suggested and agreed on at last conference for more active

2 2 involvement of Delegates. The first short paper we received is a good example and will be circulated to Delegates, and we hope for a broader response before the next EC meeting on 11 th of June. 2 News from the Executive Committee The EC met in Amsterdam on March 6 th. Among the topics dealt with were the progress of the Working Group Papers to be presented at the upcoming conference, the topics to be discussed at the breakout sessions at this year s conference, the selection of new topics for the Working Groups 2008/2009 and issues related to new IMIA Members and EC Members. In the light of past observations various items of the Gleneagles agenda and programme were reviewed in order to adjust it where considered necessary. Neil Clutterbuck from Allianz /UK participated at the meeting as newly co-opted EC member. The next EC meeting will be held at London on 11 th June Member / Delegate News New India Assurance, India and Renaissance Insurance, Russia are now new IMIA Members. 4 Engineering Insurance Market news 4.1 An International Symposium on Tunnel Safety and Security (ISTSS) 2008 is being arranged by the SP Swedish Technical Research Institute on March, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. Please visit the official web site Fourth International Conference on Forensic Engineering: From Failure to Understanding The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is pleased to invite you to the forthcoming Fourth International Conference on Forensic Engineering to be held on 3-5 December 2008 at One Great George Street, London, UK. This international conference will focus on moving From Failure to Understanding of built environments in order to help with managing sustainable life-time performance of constructed assets.

3 3 4.3 A.M.Best Research notes: Awareness grows that moderate quakes could devastate Europe Lurking beneath Central Europe are numerous faults that rarely break the ground surface but that still could lead to large scale catastrophe losses for insurers and reinsurers." A.M.Best noted that companies who could be affected are in the process of "gauging their exposure to these potential quake events as part of new solvency guidelines set to take effect in 2012". Best's study provides historical perspectives on European earthquakes and the insurance industry, as well as an examination of the ability of the insurance industry and the public to absorb losses from a "major" or "great" earthquake. It combines assessments from three catastrophe modellers to assess the impact of such earthquakes in Central Europe, Greece and Turkey, based on different scenarios. "A quake in Central Europe would not have to be as powerful as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake or the 6.7 magnitude Northridge, California quake in 1994 to generate at least $10 billion in total losses," stated A.M.Best. "This is due primarily to the growing concentration of property values exposed, the quality of existing building stock and the tendency of the soil in some regions to liquefy." Despite the growing risks, A.M.Best found that "penetration rates for earthquake insurance remain low. In countries such as Italy and Turkey, less than 30 percent of the total expected losses from earthquakes likely to happen once every 200 years would be insured." In addition "as awareness of the peril has grown among the European population, some countries that previously had excluded earthquake from standard insurance policies now include it. Others are considering doing so. 5 Risk News 5.1 Offshore Wind Power Project BARD Engineering An offshore wind power project by BARD Engineering will be built some 90 km off Borkum in the Atlantic sea. The project will include 80 units of 5MW wind mills. This is quite an ambitious project at sums insured EUR 1.2 billion for MD and 265 million for BI.

4 4 5.2 US wind capacity surge The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has released figures showing that installed US wind capacity grew by 45% or some 5244 MW in The new wind projects account for about 30% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally over the year. The total installed wind capacity is now 16,818 MW, spread across 34 states, and this year that is expected to generate just over 1% of US electricity supply. Meanwhile Texas consolidates leads with 4356 MW installed capacity. GE Energy continued to lead in wind turbine sales, with 45% of the market in terms of new capacity installed. Second came Vestas, followed by Siemens and Gamesa. FPL Energy was the top developer, with 956 MW in 2007 alone. 'This is the third consecutive year of record-setting growth, establishing wind power as one of the largest sources of new electricity supply for the country,' said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. 'This remarkable and accelerating growth is driven by strong demand, favourable economics'. However, with the PTC and tax incentives being in danger of lapsing at the end of this year, the industry association is calling for a prompt extension of federal renewable energy incentives that are 'vital' to sustain momentum. Initial estimates from AWEA indicate that 2008 could at least match 2007 in installed capacity. AWEA notes that at least fourteen new manufacturing facilities opened or were announced in the US in Shaft construction project Thyssen Shaft Construction will construct a 2000 m deep shaft for a nickel mine in Russia. This will be built by drilling and blasting method. Total project costs approx. EUR 440 million. 5.4 Urbanisation of Monaco This project was announced already in 2006 by the Minister of State of Monaco and intends the construction of a number of artificial islands off the coast of Monaco besides the basin and coral reef. This will serve to provide space for new hotels,

5 5 residential areas, shops, offices, schools, parks, car parking areas, and other related facilities with a total area of 275,000 m 2. Selected contractors have been working on the project to draw up their plans according to the specifications imposed. The government and the Sovereign Prince decide on the best offers. Works preparation and construction will take more than 10 years as from 2008 and the contract value is estimated at some EUR 6 to 10 billion. This will be the second sea extension of the Principality, the first having been the creation of Fontvieille on the west of the territory over twenty years ago, which enabled Monaco to increase its land by 20 hectares. 5.5 The City Line in Stockholm City Line is a double-track railway with two new stations that is to be built in an approximately six kilometre-long tunnel between the commuter station Stockholm south and Tomteboda. The City Line is being constructed in order to solve the capacity problem for rail traffic through Stockholm. The City Line will be used by the commuter train services. It will double the capacity of train services through central Stockholm. The two new City Line stations, City and Odenplan, will be important junctions that provide passengers using the Stockholm public transport system with new travel options. The new stations will reduce travel time for many passengers, either by bringing them closer to their destinations or by making it easier for them to change to the underground or bus services.

6 6 The total cost of the City Line is approximately SEK 16 billion. The line is planned to become operational in Interesting Claims 6.1 BOSTON - A settlement of $458 million has been reached in Boston s Big Dig highway construction project Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff agreed to the settlement to resolve its criminal and civil liabilities in connection with the collapse of the I-90 Connector Tunnel ceiling and defects in the slurry walls of the Tip O Neill tunnel. The partial ceiling collapse resulted in the death of a passenger in a vehicle, in July An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the epoxy adhesive used in the tunnel s construction failed, causing portions of 26-ton concrete panels to fall and crush the vehicle in which the passenger was riding. A civil lawsuit is still pending against one of the construction contractors. The majority of the $458 million will be held in a new state Central Artery/Tunnel Project Repair and Maintenance Trust Fund to provide for future non-routine repairs and maintenance of the Big Dig, Ms. Coakley said in a statement. The project s owner controlled insurance program will cover $40 million of the payout. 6.2 Collapse of boiler support structure End of October last year a severe damage occurred when some very heavy components of the boiler support structure collapsed. This occurred during construction of a 3000 t/h steam boiler of a lignite coal fired power station project at Neurath-Grevenbroich, Germany. The EUR 2.2 billion contract includes two units at 1100 MWe each. Components of more than 100 ton fell down from some 150m height, the top of the steel structure damaging parts of the lower sections and scaffoldings unfortunately causing several fatalities. The cause for the collapse of the components is under investigation.

7 7 6.3 Broken dam in the province of Rondonia in Brazil In the region of Pimenta Bueno in the federal state of Rondonia (Brazil) a dam the hydro power plant Usina Apertadinho broke on 9 th of January 2008 according to local news. The power plant of 30 MW is a new project and was supposed to commence operation in February this year An area of 280 hectares was flooded when the dam broke and the Rio Melgaço rose by 3 meters. The dam ran completely empty. The area is thinly populated however the flood endangered some families. This danger lasted however not for long and the water level downstream normalised quickly. Another hydro power plant further upstream is regulation the water flow now. Experts assume that the earth dam could not withstand the water masses of the recent heavy rainfalls. The case is under investigation.

8 8 7 IMIA Conference 2008 Preparations for the next conference are progressing well. Please note the early completion date for Hotel room bookings required by the end of April! 8 Last but not least The EC thanks you for your continued support and wishes good success in hitting your targets even if this may be more complicated than usual as in the case below! Your IMIA EC Team