Five minutes with: Gilbert Canameras

What are the biggest issues facing risk managers in France at the moment?

Political risk is a major threat – not only in the classical sense but also in terms of the potential for civil unrest. The worst of the financial crisis might now be over, but its legacy is increased political risk. We are seeing this both in Europe and also in emerging countries as they start to become more wealthy and powerful.

We are also seeing escalating tensions developing among neighbouring countries, such as the show of strength between China and Japan. This certainly has the potential to create some serious political risk for emerging countries and beyond.

In Europe we have not quite finished with the economic crisis and fiscal instability remains – this can cause problems for foreign investors.

There are many facets to cyber risk, but Big Data is clearly a danger to companies, expecially as firms are seeking new information tools to help them with globalisation.

Supply chain continues to remain a major threat and weakness and vulnerabilities exist for a number of reasons, as a consequence of political risks, for example.

How is the insurance industry tackling these risks?

The insurance industry will always say it is able to provide insurance protection for companies, but the reality is that this is not always the case. Often it is due to delays between the emergence of a particular risk and the development of the right insurance product. Now insurers are getting better at innovating and anticipating the needs of businesses. The industry understands that we are moving in an ever-changing world.

There is also much more dialogue between risk managers and insurers and, while delays are shorter, they continue to exist.

You have been Amrae president for several years now, what is so special about the organisation?

Amrae has become more and more important as an organisation as its numbers grow. This means that we are not only more professional but also more creative.

To illustrate this, Amrae is the first national association to have set up and implemented a body of knowledge for the profession – the risk management framework – and we are very proud of that. I think this framework will also make a very positive contribution to Ferma’s certification target. We have been particularly encouraged by the reception for this body of knowledge and it means that we are now able to explain what we are doing and why it is so important for businesses to establish risk management within a company.

We have also succeeded in holding discussions with the French authorities regarding mandatory coverage for first time in 10 years.

Amrae is now a very strong organisation that is both active and responsive. We are focused on the scientific, on lobbying and networking and we pride ourselves on remaining a friendly and approachable organisation.