CRESTA was set up by the insurance industry in 1977 as an independent organisation for the technical management of natural hazard coverage. CRESTA has set itself the aim of establishing a globally uniform system for the accumulation risk control of natural hazards - particularly earthquakes, storms and floods. Nowadays, widely accepted standards apply throughout the international insurance industry. The information provided here is available to everyone but is aimed primarily at insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance and reinsurance brokers and risk managers.
	CRESTA's main tasks are:
		Determining country-specific zones for the uniform and detailed reporting of accumulation risk data relating to natural hazards and creating corresponding zonal maps for each country.
		Drawing up standardised accumulation risk-recording forms for each country.
		Working out a uniform format for the processing and electronic transfer of accumulation risk data between insurance and reinsurance companies.
	In addition, CRESTA also undertakes the following activities:
		Collating relevant scientific and insurance-related data dealing with insurance and natural phenomena in a written record.
		Collecting summaries of information dealing with natural phenomena for each country, in particular relating to earthquakes.
		Collecting information on natural hazards for each country which is of relevance to the insurance and reinsurance industry.
	None of the above-listed and published works are in any way binding. CRESTA makes no recommendations on the insurance and reinsurance of natural hazards but merely seeks to provide information on existing regulations. CRESTA is administered by the appropriate CRESTA office, which can be presently contacted at the following address:
		CRESTA Secretariat c/o Swiss Reinsurance Company CH-8022 Zurich e-mail: info@cresta.org