XL Capital will lobby for an industry-wide review of corporate social responsibility programmes later this year in conjunction with one of the leading insurance trade groups.

Speaking at the opening of the second XL Capital Congress in Berlin, a global risk conference focused on ?One World Without Borders?, Brian M. O?Hara, president and chief executive officer said, ?Our industry needs to change its culture and business practices. I believe that the time has come for it to develop an enabling culture of integrity that will hold every company accountable and responsible for adherence to a set of professional core values.

?While I agree that a code of behaviour will not prevent wrongdoing, I believe it will go some way towards encouraging trust and rebuilding the industry?s reputation in the minds of our customers and shareholders.?

The reputation of the industry as a whole was damaged by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer?s probes of finite risk contracts and contingent commissions which resulted in several of the industry?s largest companies paying out more than $2 billion in fines, Mr. O?Hara said.

?Our industry is in much better shape than it was,? said Mr. O?Hara. However, he says business needs to see the social and political dimensions in which it operates not just as risks that need to be managed but also as opportunities.

At XL, employees? financial rewards are influenced by the extent to which they model XL?s core values of ethics, teamwork, excellence, development and respect.

He said: ?Society depends on us for more than just the payment of claims?it?s all about adding value, about raising awareness of the issues, helping prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best.

?We would like to see an industry-based co-ordinated approach to Corporate Social Responsibility planning being adopted, which could make better use of scarce resources in our risk industry.?

Long-term he suggested there could be a new role for companies, which could help shape a new global governance model and see more companies becoming partners in global problem solving.

?What?s needed are leaders committed to changing the way society organises itself and the way we approach social problems. These leaders will be doing more than giving food or money away. They will be teaching the world to reorganise itself along more long-term sustainable lines,? he said.

During the two-day congress, a range of speakers ? including Lord Christopher Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University and last British Governor of Hong Kong and former Prime Minister of Pakistan ? were set to critically examine economic, political, and social issues with the aim of helping Congress attendees gain a better understanding of the changing face of risk and its evolving impact on the business world.