Reinsurers Play Vital Role in Climate Change Prevention and Mitigation Efforts

As world leaders gather to discuss climate change at the United Nations this week, a new report from the Global Reinsurance Forum (GRF) says risk prevention and mitigation measures as well as risk transfer are the key to managing this threat.

According to the report, up to 65 percent of climate risks can be averted by adaptation measures including infrastructure development, technology advancements, shifts in systems and behaviors such as improved building codes and land use management, and financial measures.

The global re/insurance industry plays a vital role in planning and implementation of such measures. As the GRF says:

Future insurability will depend on well-planned adaptation: without it, property insurance will become less affordable and less accessible.

The world cannot simply insure its way out of the effects of climate change, but adaptation allows the global burden of potential loss to be reduced and shared, helping to keep the most vulnerable from being overwhelmed.”

The report points out that the reinsurance industry is particularly exposed to the impact of climate change given its role as an ultimate destination of risk:

The industry identified climate change as an emerging risk more than twenty years ago; it has since become a key component of every company’s long-term risk management strategy.”

Citing a 2012 IPCC report, the GRF notes that extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, droughts, heat waves as well as rising sea levels, crop failures and water shortages have become more numerous and severe.

Reinsurers can make an important contribution by developing protection and mitigation-finance solutions to address the specific challenges that climate change presents.

At the same time, the GRF says reinsurers are advancing understanding of climate change-related risk through the development of natural catastrophe models and via collaboration with universities and scientific institutions. They are also monitoring relevant phenomena such as urbanization, population concentration, property and commercial activity in high-risk areas along the coasts and flood plains.

Check out a great I.I.I. backgrounder on climate change and insurance issues here.