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BOSTON, MA - The Insurance Institute for Property Loss Reduction is now the Institute for Business & Home Safety. The new name better reflects the organization's strategic vision of "a nation that builds the safest and most damage-resistant structures possible to protect its citizens," said IBHS chairman, Brig. Gen. USAF (Ret.) Wilson C. Cooney, who is president, USAA Property and Casualty.
"To enable that vision to become a reality, the member insurance companies of IBHS have directed it to fulfill a critically important mission: to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering, caused by natural disasters," he said. "The mission of IBHS requires nothing less than a war against natural disasters."
Harvey G. Ryland, president and chief executive officer of IBHS, said that IBHS is partnering with other organizations with a stake in reducing losses from earthquakes, wind and hail storms, floods and wildfires.
These partners include the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Independent Insurance Agents of America, Inc.
"Public outreach is a key element of our strategic plan," said Ryland. "We want people to be aware of the natural hazards they face, know how to protect their families, homes and businesses and build, buy and use structures that are disaster safe."
One example of those outreach efforts is a program to retrofit every nonprofit day care center in the country to protect their occupants against harm from natural disasters, he explained.
Ryland said IBHS also would promote locating of structures out of high risk areas through prudent community land use; ensuring that new structures are designed, engineered and constructed with the latest techniques and materials that mitigate natural disaster risks and promoting the retrofit of existing structures to reduce damage.
In addition, IBHS will collect, analyze and distribute information on natural disaster losses and mitigation, he said. "Working with our partners, IBHS aims to instill natural disaster mitigation as a public value, much like auto safety is today," said Ryland.
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