"I always have to be busy"

When Sécurité Routière (road safety association) celebrates its 65th birthday the year after next, Paul Hammelmann will have been working there for a total of 45 years. For him, this is a good time to step down as president. But his dream would of course be if Sécurité Routière could simply be abolished, as it would no longer be needed, as he revealed to us in a detailed conversation at his home.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: It is now exactly ten years since you left your job as managing director of the ACA, the Luxembourgish Insurance Association, to retire after more than 30 years of service. Didn't you get bored in this position after all those long years? Surely there are more exciting things than dealing with insurance for three decades?

Paul Hammelmann: Insurance has always had a social component. For example, many victims would not be compensated without motor liability insurance and the associated mechanisms, even internationally.

But over the years, the social aspect became less and less sexy. There were also some among the insurance people who wanted to play banker. I always liked the insurance companies, the banks less so. But I never got bored. At a certain point, I was at most no longer so motivated, but since I was never employed, I could make myself more useful elsewhere and also get involved socially, like at Sécurité Routière or as part of my work at my law firm. However, I remain on friendly terms with all my former colleagues in the insurance business.