Climate: “Insurers have an educational role to play” says Pádraig Martin (Medef)

«The weather is not waiting for us », you announced during your back to school speech. To what extent do companies, and especially insurers, benefit from taking an interest in biodiversity?

Patrick Martin: Insurers have an educational role to play! We can clearly see that over the years, the cost of climate risk increase very quickly. This must be an incentive: those who resist these challenges will be caught by the patrol. We clearly see that the weather is disturbing economic models. Some sectors will benefit, others will suffer. We need to celebrate them and support them. In general, for businesses, this represents major training and funding challenges.

You advocate for the establishment of a European capital markets union and want to “relax the prudential ratios that prevent investment”. On what specific points do you want more flexibility?

I am referring to management reform Solution II [Solvabilité II] for the insurance sector etc Basel III [sur le secteur bancaire]. The shift in equity that these prudential ratios force when banks and insurance companies invest in small and medium businesses is very sterilizing.

Absence associated with work stoppages has a significant impact on insurance and finances. Is this a watchpoint?

Yes, in particular we are particularly careful regarding the establishment of a waiting period [allongé] on sick leave. [ Dans un rapport sur la situation des finances sociales, la Cour des Comptes dresse une série de propositions pour combler le déficit de la Sécu et préconise notamment l’arrêt de l’indemnisation des arrêts de travail de moins de huit jour et l’augmentation du délai de carence de trois à sept jours. Une mesure rejetée par les entreprises, dont un grand nombre indemnisent leurs collaborateurs sur les trois jours de carence NDLR].