Weather Risk

Insurance commissioners in New York, California and Washington State will require that insurance companies disclose their responses to the risks their insureds face from increasingly severe storms and wildfires, rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.

Wildfires have grown from being regional or seasonal problems as the wildfire season throughout the United States often runs the entire year and in a variety of locations.

Citing the need for regulators to understand how the risk of climate change can impact carriers, three states say they will require insurers to respond to the climate-risk survey adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2009.

Recognizing the need for insurance-risk transfer in Caribbean states vulnerable to climate change, Munich Re says it has received permission to launch a program that provides insurance to workers and farmers most likely to suffer from hurricanes and floods in the region.

Insurers can play a vital role in the development of renewable energy by producing risk-transfer programs and making corporate investments themselves, says insurer Munich Re.

Climate change will lead to 10 times the number of hotter days in many areas, with more heavy precipitation and higher wind speeds globally, but adaption and mitigation can reduce the risks significantly, according to a new report.