5.4 EXPERT INTERVIEWS GIVEN HOW FRESH SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THIS...

1.5.4  Expert  Interviews  

Given how fresh some of the results of this research are, and taking into consideration the wide range

of data sources used in this thesis, a form of triangulation is necessary to verify the results. To do this,

during the summer of 2013 a panel of experts was selected from the insurance industry and from

academia. The criterion for inclusion in this research was that they had been recently involved in one

capacity or another in contributing to the future direction of Dutch flood compensation policy. To offer

some level of generalisability, a semi-structured interview format was followed based on the questions

in Appendix 2.0. The interviews (with two exceptions) were recorded and transcribed. The experts

were selected for the following reasons:

Wouter Botzen is an Assistant Professor Environmental Economics at VU Amsterdam. He was

selected as an expert because he is a leading academic researcher in the field of climate change and

flood insurance in the Netherlands. He has published several key papers used in this research. His key

finding is that a form of private flood insurance within a multi level public-private system offers

advantages based on economic efficiency compared to the current Dutch WTS public compensation

system. He has worked with the Dutch Association of Insurers as an adviser. Furthermore, his policy

recommendations were used by the Association as academic justification for their proposal to introduce

mandatory flood insurance.

Youbaraj Paudel is a PhD student under Wouter Botzen at VU Amsterdam. He was selected as his

field of study is Dutch climate change risk insurance and adaptation. A relevant finding of his is that

flood insurance premiums are higher under private systems than public or public-private arrangements.

He believes it is not possible for private insurance to be commercially viable for the insurance of major

natural catastrophes and there will always be a need for public compensation beyond that available

through private insurance arrangements.

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Matthijs Kok is a Professor and part-time chair of Flood Risk at TU Delft. He is also a founding partner

of HKV Consultants. He has worked as a consultant advisor with the Dutch Association of Insurers,

Neerlandse, and the Dutch government, including the recent proposal to introduce mandatory flood

insurance to the Netherlands.

Kosta Keramopoulos was selected as he is a founding partner of Neerlandse, the first company to

begin selling private flood insurance in the Netherlands. His company is not a member of the Dutch

Association of Insurers and therefore has a different perspective on the future of private flood insurance

in the Netherlands compared to members. The company took a firm stance against the association’s

proposal for the introduction of mandatory flood insurance. He is in favour of a free market for flood

insurance in which companies and homeowners are free to choose whether to participate based on a

fuller understanding of the flood risk faced in individual circumstances.

Marko van Leeuwen was selected as he is a spokesperson for the Dutch Association of Insurers. He

was asked on behalf of his members about the association's stance on the introduction of mandatory

private flood insurance. He was able to answer questions by email but was bound by confidentiality

agreements with his employer.

J.W. is a senior broker for the Lloyd's of London syndicate that won the bid to reinsure four billion euros

of Dutch flood risk under the Dutch Association of Insurers 2012 proposal for mandatory flood

insurance. He was able to contribute an external industry perspective on the association’s proposal and

also current movements in the flood insurance industry in France, Belgium and the UK.

T.S. is a senior underwriter of property at a leading Lloyd's of London syndicate. He is a leading expert

in natural catastrophe insurance and had inside knowledge of the UK’s recent public consultation to

introduce a new public backed insurance pool for high risk domestic properties called 'Flood Re'. He

also is an expert on European flood insurance policy.

All the experts requested that they should not be quoted directly in this thesis. This is a very

understandable position as much of what was discussed pertains to very recent commercially sensitive

decisions and attributed quotes could have professional repercussions as well as a potential bearing on

the future of flood compensation in the Netherlands. To get around this restriction, while also still

including these expert views, they are amalgamated and will be referenced collectively as (EP, 2013). It

should be noted that the opinions expressed during the interviews are personal and do not reflect the

positions of companies or organisations for which the experts work or have worked. More information

can be found in Appendix 3.0.

Short email exchanges were also held with a number of other academics and industry experts. Most

people contacted declined to be interviewed or did not reply to the invitation sent.

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