Barry Franklin takes a page from Benjamin Franklin

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Benjamin Franklin may have been the first to deliver that sage advice in 1735, but Zurich North America’s Head of Risk Barry Franklin reaffirmed the message recently at an American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C.

The May 30 briefing, “Hurricane Season: Resiliency, Response, and Recovery,” was moderated by APCIA’s Tom Santos and featured Michelle Hawkins from National Weather Service, Deb Ballen from Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety and Franklin.

In line with that of his historical namesake, Franklin’s main message was that “prevention is a better risk management strategy than recovery alone.” He reinforced this idea by explaining that “every dollar spent in preventive measures saves five dollars in future losses.”

One way to increase community resilience is to learn from past catastrophes, which can help communities be better prepared for the next catastrophe. Franklin shared how Zurich utilizes its Post Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology to investigate what factors can turn a natural catastrophe into a disaster. He said that sharing these findings can help shift mindsets from recovery to resilience.

Franklin also shared key insights and recommendations from the recent post-event report about Hurricane Florence.

For more information the APCIA briefing, check out this Business Insurance article.