Climate-related Insurance Activities Not Growing Fast Enough

April 6, 2009

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Insurers continue to consider the environment and climate in their policies, although the number of such policies is not rising fast enough, according to a new report from Ceres.

In developing its report,on climate-focused insurance, “From Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Climate Change,” (PDF) Ceres pored over 643 climate-related activities from 244 insurers, reinsurers, brokers and insurance organizations.

By “activities,” Ceres refers to efforts toward:

understanding the climate change problem
promoting loss prevention
aligning terms and conditions with risk-reducing behavior
crafting innovative insurance products
offering carbon risk management and offsets
financing customer improvements
investment in climate change solutions
building awareness and participating in public policy
leading by example
carbon risk disclosure

The climate-related activities surveyed were from companies operating in 29 countries, yet 37 percent of all the activities were proffered by U.S. companies.

European insurance providers have deep understanding of climate as it relates to insurance. According to the report, 47 percent of such activities originate in Europe.

After accounting for the U.S. and Europe, that leaves the rest of the world generating just 16 percent of climate-related insurance activities.

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