Home values could fall significantly. Banks could stop lending to flood-prone communities. Towns could lose the tax money they need to build sea walls and other protections. These are a few of the warnings published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco regarding the financial risks of climate change. The collection of 18 papers by […]
Insurers have warned that climate change will make coverage for ordinary people unaffordable after Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance firm, blamed global warming for $24bn of losses in the Californian wildfires. Read the entire article at The Guardian. Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s chief climatologist, told the Guardian that the costs could soon be […]
Major insurance carrier AXA has been surveying risk professionals for five years on their key emerging risks. Climate change has always ranked high. But this year’s survey produced a stunning result: of the 1,235 risk professionals, including 1,060 AXA employees all over the globe, the percentage of respondents pointing to climate change as their key concern rocketed up […]
The consequences of climate change are diverse and are affecting the insurance industry. The physical changes, in other words regional changes in weather patterns in terms of frequency and extent, are one of the consequences of great relevance to reinsurance. Extreme weather events result in high material damage to buildings and infrastructure, as well as […]
Global banking giant HSBC has announced it would no longer fund fossil fuel projects, including Arctic drilling, tar sands development, the construction of new coal plants, and hydroelectric projects that are not consistent with guidelines set by the World Commission on Dams. Read the entire article at Triple Pundit. “Our updated energy policy reflects […]
In their reports on extreme events during 2017, Munich Re and Swiss Re have estimated worldwide natural catastrophe losses at around $330 billion dollars, the second worst on record. Losses from weather-related disasters were the worst ever, as a result of the hurricanes which hit the United States and Caribbean. It was also a record […]
Creeping flood waters driven by sea rise have yet to reach the doors of most homes in Miami-Dade, but research shows the looming threat from climate change is already affecting their value. And not in a good way. Read the entire article at The Miami Herald. New data from Harvard University and the University […]
What’s happening on a 60-kilometer stretch of coastline on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula may change how the world values its coral reefs. Read the entire article at The Nature Conservancy. In 2005, Mexico’s Caribbean coast was struck by two hurricanes, causing USD$8 billion in damages and closing hotels and other businesses in Cancún long […]
AXA is one of the largest global insurers with over 100 million customers and 165,000 employees in 64 countries. Preparing for tomorrow’s risks means reflecting and taking actions on them today. That is why AXA surveys employees worldwide every year to identify the most important emerging risks for the next five to 10 years. […]
2017’s hurricane season revealed an astounding lack of resiliency in the U.S. on many levels. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria laid bare fundamental inadequacies of the current flood insurance program. Too few homeowners had flood insurance in place. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps inadequately represent actual flood risks and, even more importantly, outreach programs […]