The Applied Services Economic Centre (ASEC) was initiated in 1985 by the Geneva Association’s Founding Secretary-General, Orio Giarini, who was then concerned that not enough thought and attention was being directed to the steady evolution of modern economies and societies from agriculture and manufacturing towards a “services economy”, with all of the multiple and varied implications which that development might imply.

The Geneva Association jointly with its members is organising a series of regular events to promote the understanding about modern Risk Management in insurance and the role of the CRO. This is done through a series of workshops and studies and the initiatives in this area are chaired by Dr Bruno Porro, until January 2005 CRO and Executive Board Member of Swiss Re and since February 2005 Chairman of the CRO Networks of The Geneva Association.

The European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE) is a European-based non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting research on risk and insurance. This is mainly achieved through the organisation of scientific conferences and meetings, the publication of research materials and the creation of a contact network amongst the concerned parties.

The objects of the Centre are concerned not so much with academic research but with the practical problem of reducing fire waste. The main focus of its work, the collection, analysis and dissemination of internationally comparable fire cost statistics, is thus seen very much as a means to an end: persuading governments to adopt coherent fire strategies aimed at reducing national fire costs.

The Silver Workers Institute is an independent and apolitical research organisation with an international focus on labour issues of the elderly, both from a company and public policy perspective. It is the mission of the Silver Workers Institute to study the work environment of the elderly, identify problem areas that obstruct the utilization of their workforce and propose policy action – for companies and governments – to increase the production capacity in our economies.

On the basis of a voluntary network, partly supported by The Geneva Association, The Risk Institute was established in order to extend the studies on the issues of risk, vulnerability and uncertainties to the broader cultural, economic, social and political levels of modern society.

The purposes of the Congress are to stimulate corporate awareness and interest in risk-related research and to provide a forum for networking among academics and industry and government professional worldwide. Congress is open to \'all persons\' who share an interest in promoting education and research in the broad areas of risk and insurance. Except for their interest in the conference, preferably in the form of presenting a paper, no criteria are established for participant qualifications. European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE), Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA), The American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) and The Geneva Association jointly organize the meetings.

Assurances et gestion des risques, une revue universitaire, est publiée par HEC Montréal. Elle analyse l\'évolution de l\'assurance au Canada et à l\'étranger depuis 1932. Elle étudie, sous les angles théorique et pratique, tous les aspects reliés à la couverture et à la gestion des risques. Elle traite de la distribution et du droit de l\'assurance.

The Journal of Risk and Insurance is the flagship journal for the American Risk and Insurance Association. The JRI is the most well recognized academic risk management and insurance journal in the world and is currently indexed by the American Economic Association\'s Economic Literature Index, the Finance Literature Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index, ABI/Inform, Business and Company ASAP, Lexis-Nexis, Dow Jones Interactive, and others. All back issues from volume one through the present minus the most recent three years are available on JSTOR.

This journal is the natural outlet for the best research in decision analysis, economics and psychology dealing with choice under uncertainty. The Journal of Risk and Uncertainty features both theoretical and empirical papers that analyze risk-bearing behavior and decision-making under uncertainty. The journal serves as an outlet for important, relevant research in decision analysis, economics, and psychology.

Risk Management and Insurance Review publishes respected, accessible, and high-quality applied research, and well-reasoned opinion and discussion in the field of risk and insurance. The Review\'s \'Feature Articles\' section includes original research involving applications and applied techniques. The \'Perspectives\' section contains articles providing new insights on the research literature, business practice, and public policy. The \'Educational Insights\' section provides a repository of high-caliber model lectures in risk and insurance, along with articles discussing and evaluating instructional techniques.

Founded by The Geneva Association in 1973, this prestigious journal leads its field, publishing papers which both improve the scientific knowledge of the insurance industry and stimulate constructive dialogue between the industry and its economic and social partners.

The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review is an international journal published by Palgrave Macmillan for The Geneva Association in annual volumes of two issues. Its purpose is to support and encourage research in the economics of risk, uncertainty, insurance and related institutions by providing a forum for the scholarly exchange of findings and opinions.

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the largest professional, actuarial organization in the world. It is dedicated to serving its 19,000 members, and the public. The SOA\'s vision is for actuaries to be recognized as the leading professionals in the modeling and management of financial risk and contingent events. The SOA is committed to: Education–Providing basic education in the fundamental principles of actuarial science, advanced education, professional development and continuing education for practicing actuaries; Research–Conducting research to develop studies of historical experience and techniques for projections into the future, analyzing the actuarial aspects of public policy issues and providing the foundation for further expansion of the profession; The Profession–Promoting high standards of professional competence and conduct within the actuarial profession.

The American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (AICPCU) and the Insurance Institute of America (IIA) are independent, nonprofit organizations offering educational programs and professional certification to people in all segments of the property and liability insurance business. They respond to the educational needs of people in insurance and risk management to help them provide professional service to the public. More than 150,000 insurance practitioners around the world are involved in Institute programs.

ARIA is the premier professional association of insurance scholars and other thoughtful risk management and insurance professionals. Founded in 1932, the association\'s membership is comprised of academics, individual insurance industry representatives, and institutional sponsors. ARIA emphasizes research relevant to the operational concerns and functions of insurance professionals, and provides resources, information and support on important insurance issues. Its goals also include the expansion and improvement of academic instruction to students of risk management and insurance. ARIA \'s ability to provide networking, information, and support on important insurance issues makes it a valuable organization to its members. Those provisions come from a variety of awards, publications, and conferences, including The Journal of Risk and Insurance, Risk Management and Insurance Review, ARIA\'s Annual Meeting, and the annual Risk Theory Seminar.

Founded in Singapore in 1997, the Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA) is a global learned society for all academics, executives, researchers and government leaders with an interest in risk management, insurance, actuarial science and related areas. It provides multiple fora for members to share ideas and to engage in collaborative research, openly and in a sprit of helpfulness, for the ultimate benefit of the insurance industry. Two of the fora are the Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance and APRIA annual Conferences. APRIA also works closely with other academic societies around the world, including the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA, the European Group of Insurance Economists (EGRIE)and The Geneva Association.

The Center for Insurance Research, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, provides an independent voice for reform in debates about insurance, banks, financial services companies and related public policy issues around the nation. CIR focuses on national and state issues of insurance and financial services regulation in a range of areas including: mutual conversions, health care, illegal discrimination, insurance accessibility, cost reduction, quality assurance, disclosure, corporate and regulatory accountability. CIR presents invited testimony before federal and state legislatures and agencies, conducts studies and initiates litigation on behalf of the public interest, sponsors public forums, and engages in public interest campaigns.

The mission of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) is to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works. Today, the I.I.I. is recognized by the media, governments, regulatory organizations, universities and the public as a primary source of information, analysis and referral concerning insurance. In addition to direct contact with the media, individuals and organizations, the I.I.I. publishes a host of helpful pamphlets and books. The Institute does not lobby. Its central function is to provide accurate and timely information on insurance subjects.

The Risk Theory Society, originally founded in August 1963 as the Risk Theory Seminar, is a self-administered organization within the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) whose purpose is to foster research into topics in risk theory and risk management. The Society accomplishes its mission by hosting an annual meeting where papers that have been distributed to members in advance of the meeting are presented and critically discussed in an extended time format. The Society\'s membership is small (less than 70 members) but diverse. Most of the Society\'s members are faculty members at universities in North America, although major European and Asian universities are also represented.

The Singapore College of Insurance (SCI) is a not-for-profit, industry-based training and professional education provider that was set up in 1974 in support of Singapore\'s aspiration to be a major international financial centre in the region. For over 30 years now, SCI has drawn on its passion for industry development and continuous learning in the fields of Insurance, Risk Management and Financial Services to build a strong international reputation for high quality, industry-relevant training and education programmes that cater to the learning needs of more than 450,000 industry professionals from all across Asia. Today, SCI is strategically positioned to lead the revolution towards greater professionalism in the industry by ensuring that its broad portfolio of qualifications, education, continuing professional development programmes and customised training solutions are consistent with and aligned to international best practice and competency standards expected of insurance and financial services professionals operating in an increasingly globalised market environment.

The Society for Risk Analysis is a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, scholarly, international society that provides an open forum for all those who are interested in risk analysis. Risk analysis is broadly defined to include risk assessment, risk characterization, risk communication, risk management, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

The purposes of the Association are to promote education in risk and insurance; to encourage research in the field of risk and insurance; to publish such materials on risk and insurance as may from time to time seem appropriate in furthering the purposes of the Association; to provide an open forum for scholarly discussion of any matter relating to risk and insurance; and to cooperate with other organizations, both domestic and foreign, interested in furthering education and research in risk and insurance.

The American College is a non-profit educational institution with the highest level of academic accreditation dedicated to leadership in innovative training and development for financial services professionals. Serving as a valued business partner to banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies and others for 80 years, The American College has assembled a faculty of the foremost thought leaders in the industry to help companies and their employees succeed.

One of the principal objectives of the Huebner Foundation is the strengthening of collegiate insurance education by increasing the number of professors specializing in insurance. With the financial support of the insurance industry, the Foundation accomplishes this objective by providing fellowship grants to students pursuing the Ph.D. degree at the Wharton School. Huebner fellows receive the highest quality of education from the Insurance and Risk Management faculty at Wharton, widely recognized as the best in the world. The Foundation has enjoyed great success in this regard, as a high proportion of the professors of insurance in North America are former Huebner fellows.

The Western Risk and Insurance Association officially began on 24 August 1965 with an organizational meeting in San Francisco. The primary goals of the Western Risk and Insurance Association are to promote education and research in the field of Risk Management and Insurance.

The ABI (Association of British Insurers) represents the collective interests of the UK’s insurance industry. The Association speaks out on issues of common interest; helps to inform and participate in debates on public policy issues; and also acts as an advocate for high standards of customer service in the insurance industry. The Association has around 400 companies in membership. Between them, they provide 94% of domestic insurance services sold in the UK. ABI member companies account for almost 20 per cent of investments in the London stock market.

The Association of the Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of Turkey is a specialist institution with the characteristics of a unique non-governmental institution established by law. All local or foreign insurance and reinsurance companies operating in Turkey are members of the Association. As of December 2005, the Association has a total number of 55 members, 53 of them being insurance companies and the remaining 2 being reinsurance companies.

CEA is the European insurance and reinsurance federation. Through its 33 member bodies, the national insurance associations, CEA represents all types of insurance and reinsurance undertakings, e.g. pan-European companies, monoliners, mutuals and SMEs. CEA represents undertakings that account for approximately 94% of total European premium income. Insurance makes a major contribution to Europe’s economic growth and development. European insurers generate premium income of €1 110bn, employ over one million people and invest more than €7 200bn in the economy.

A Federação Nacional das Empresas de Seguros Privados e de Capitalização - FENASEG, com sede e foro na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, é uma associação sindical, para fins de estudo, coordenação, proteção e representação legal do setor de seguros, previdência complementar aberta e capitalização. A FENASEG foi fundada em 25 de junho de 1951, por assembléia de delegados de cinco sindicatos de seguradoras: Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul e São Paulo. A entidade tem como objetivo promover o desenvolvimento do setor, definindo e defendendo seus direitos, e o representando politicamente. Atualmente, a FENASEG congrega os oito sindicatos de seguros privados, estabelecidos nos Estados da Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e São Paulo. Estão afiliadas ao sistema 160 empresas, sendo que 143 operam em Seguro - destas, 28 operam também em Previdência Complementar Aberta, e 17 operam em Capitalização. Estas empresas respondem por 99,2% da arrecadação do mercado de seguros, previdência complementar aberta e capitalização.

La Federación Interamericana de Empresas de Seguros, FIDES, es una organización representativa de los aseguradores de Latinoamérica, Estados Unidos y España, que cuenta ya con más de 50 años de experiencia. Es una Federación sin ánimo de lucro que agrupa a las Asociaciones de aseguradores de 22 países en América Latina, Estados Unidos y la Península Ibérica. FIDES soporta a las asociaciones afiliadas en aspectos tendientes a solucionar inquietudes existentes o futuras con respecto al sector asegurador, así como en lo referente a las áreas de capacitación e información, globalización e integración multilateral. FIDES representa a más de 1,570 compañías de seguros de los países afiliados, que, al año 2004, generaron en la economía del continente, sin incluir a los EE.UU, un primaje de más de 116 000 millones de dolares, con una prima promedio per capita de 202 dolares. EE.UU por si solo tuvo una prima per capita promedio de 3 755 dolares. Contribuyendo así en el Producto Interno Bruto en un 2.76% más EE.UU con un 9.36%.

Créée en 1937, la Fédération française des sociétés d\'assurances regroupe 266 entreprises représentant 90 % du marché français de l\'assurance et près de 100 % de l\'activité internationale des entreprises de ce marché. Elle réunit des sociétés anonymes, des sociétés d\'assurance mutuelle et des succursales de sociétés étrangères pratiquant l\'assurance et la réassurance.

The Federation of Finnish Financial Services is a trade body that represents its member companies who engage in the financial services industry in Finland. The Federation was formed at the start of 2007 when The Finnish Bankers’ Association, the Federation of Finnish Insurance Companies, the Finnish Finance Houses Association and the Employers’ Association of Finnish Financial Institutions joined forces. The new Federation’s members employ a total of 40,000 persons and provide services to practically all Finnish companies and consumers. The size of the Finnish financial market, made up of deposits, insurance products, fund investments, lending products and employee pension assets, adds up to €370bn. Moreover, authorised pension insurers and workers compensation insurers, also members of the Federation, play a major role as providers of insurance cover that accounts for much of Finnish social security. The new Federation continues the lobbying work of the merged organisations in the former scope. The objective is not only to secure the industry a benign operating environment, well-functioning financial markets and effective payment systems but also to support new opportunities offered to member companies in the future.

The Berlin-based German Insurance Association (GDV) is the umbrella organisation for private insurers in Germany. Its 457 member companies, with about 226.000 employees and trainees, offer comprehensive coverage and provisions to private households, trade, industry and public institutions, trough more than 400 million insurance contracts. As a risk taker and major investor (with an investment portfolio of about 1.100 billion EUR), the insurance industry has outstanding significance in connection with investments, growth and employment in our economy. GDV articulates and represents the positions of the German insurance industry before society, politicians, businesses, the media and academia, working to achieve regulatory conditions which will allow insurers to perform their responsibilities in optimal fashion. At the same time, the Association is a source of expert information about all matters relating to the insurance industry, making available its wealth of experience and information to the public. GDV informs and supports its member companies as a service provider, identifies political and social developments of relevance for the sector and proposes solutions.

The mission of the Group of North American Insurance Enterprises (GNAIE) is to assist North American and global standard setters and regulators in cooperation with the global insurance industry and with insurance and other financial services industry trade associations: •To support high quality insurance accounting standards that are useful, understandable, comparable and reliable; that preserve the insurance industry’s level-playing field access to global capital markets; and that provide good disclosure to the insurance industry’s diverse constituencies; •To support high quality insurance solvency standards that provide useful and effective statutory solvency measures to protect the interests of policyholders and other stakeholders while encouraging competitive insurance markets; and •To enhance cooperation, education and communication regarding insurance accounting and solvency among the insurance industry’s standards setters, regulators, and diverse constituencies.

The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI), a self-regulatory body of insurers, was established on 8 August 1988 to advance and promote the development of the insurance business in Hong Kong. Following its conversion to a limited company on 29 December 1994, the HKFI became a consolidated and streamlined organization that enjoys full recognition by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the representative body of an increasingly important industry. The insurance industry is one of the few industries in Hong Kong that enjoys a high degree of self-regulation complemented by the Government\'s prudent regulatory framework. While maintaining a frequent dialogue with the Commissioner of Insurance on legislative issues affecting the industry, the HKFI actively promotes and perfects its self-regulatory regime with an aim of improving the professionalism of and strengthening public confidence in the insurance industry. In May 1999, the HKFI adopted the Code of Conduct for Insurers, in order to promote good insurance practices among insurance companies and to strengthen public awareness of the expected standards of insurance services offered.

The International Federation of Risk and Insurance Management Associations (IFRIMA) is the international umbrella organization for risk management associations representing 24 organizations and over 30 countries throughout the world. With its roots going back to the 1930s and its development through the discipline of insurance and risk management, IFRIMA is uniquely positioned as a leader in risk management and its application. As an “association of associations”, IFRIMA’s primary objective is to provide a forum for interaction and communications among those associations and their members. In the past few years, IFRIMA has begun to translate that objective into specific activities that support the practice of risk management throughout the world, while taking into account the regional differences in its practice.

The International Underwriting Association of London (IUA) is the world\'s largest representative organisation for international and wholesale insurance and reinsurance companies. The IUA exists to promote and enhance the business environment for international insurance and reinsurance companies operating in or through London. The priorities of the IUA are to improve the efficiency of doing business in London; to advance the development of market expertise and innovation; to influence public policy and compliance developments; and to foster relationships with the broking community and other client-related stakeholders.

The Slovenian Insurance Association (formerly the Slovenian Insurance Bureau) is the commercial interest association of Slovenian insurance companies. It was founded in 1992. Membership of the Association is open to insurance companies involved in contract insurance which are registered in the Republic of Slovenia. Association membership is also open to other organisations where this is in the interests of the Association. The Association represents the common or individual interests of members and performs the tasks laid down by Slovenian regulations and international agreements. The SIA issues consent for the performance of other insurance transactions to individuals and organisations which have established business relations with any of its members; it resolves certain compensation claims; it collects, processes, publishes and supplies joint statistical data on insurance activities and their importance for the Slovenian economy; at the same time it organises educational seminars for members and performs other tasks of common importance. At present, the tasks are carried out by a 12-member professional service on the basis of resolutions of standing committees, committees and divisions and bodies of the Association, such as the assembly, council and the director. One of the most important tasks of the SIA is the fulfilment of obligations from international treaties and agreements concerning insurance issues not within state competence. Membership of the Association is voluntary and has grown continuously since it was established. The Association currently has 16 members.

Created in 1977, the Association of Spanish Insurers (Unespa) represents close to 300 insurance companies, or in other words, over 94% of the Spanish insurance industry. Unespa\'s role consists in representing, managing and defending the common interests of the member companies -interests which may be of a professional, economic or social nature- before individuals and entities of all kinds, public or private, national or international. In addition to this, Unespa represents its members\' collective interests in the field of industrial relations, and also provides value-added services, collaborates with institutions in insurance-related matters, and generally operates as needed to defend the interests of the insurance industry.

The General Insurance Association of Japan is currently composed of 23 member companies. Its objective is to promote the sound development of the non-life insurance industry in Japan: promotion of a better understanding of non-life insurance and supply of information about non-life insurance amongst the public; promotion of sound development and maintenance of the reliability of the non-life insurance industry; presentation of requests and proposals; response to social issues; loss prevention and traffic safety; international activities; response to environmental issues and promotion of NPO activities; and response to disasters.