Editorial
Coinciding with the Spanish presidency of the European Union it seems a good time to reflect on what this means in people’s daily lives. TRÉBOL asked for the opinion of an outstanding expert in community matters, who tries to understand the reasons for the prevailing indifference in European countries towards Europe as a community, which he condenses in two words: distance and bureaucracy. The citizens are faced with a European labyrinth without sufficient institutional or political support to facilitate simple access to the Union’s institutions, which are seen as something foreign and almost incomprehensible.
Brazil holds a privileged position in the world’s most important economic and social forums, be it the G-20 meeting in 2008 to design the new financial architecture or the recent summit meeting on the climate in Copenhagen, the country plays a very significant role. It is also well known for its oil based energy resources but the country’s economic development also takes account of both the technical and the environmental aspects. Therefore it is interesting to know the risk analysis methodology applied to lifelines and pipes that carry dangerous substances, which have been regulated in Brazil since 1981, as well as the general lines of a computer tool for risk analysis developed by ITSEMAP do Brasil.
If a Nobel Prize winner in Economics criticises the inefficiency of motor insurance rating tariffs that take no account of the vehicle’s use and intensity circumstances the sector ought to consider itself in the firing line. This is the origin of the MAPFRE Familiar “pay per use” product that was marketed after many months of studying the driving habits of thousands of young drivers in Spain. The interview contained in this edition explains YCAR’s history, advantages and future developments. This is all impregnated with the concept of innovation that ought to characterise Spain’s leading motor insurer.
Farewells are not always sad. When somebody retires, happy with the work he has done, with confidence in his successor and the conviction that the team he has created will continue its professional activity with the highest level of quality, sad is not the right word. This is the case of the manager of the MAPFRE RE London office, Tony Gasking. In a short interview he reveals unknown aspects of the London office’s implantation and the way the business has evolved. If he continues with the same enthusiasm as he put into his professional career all we foresee and wish for him is a long and interesting life in retirement. Amen