Thought for the week… net-zero is agreed, but climate resilience still needs addressing
Securing net-zero by 2050 and adapting to protect communities and natural habitats were two of COP26’s central goals. Whilst both of these are important, adaptation may have been overlooked during conversations. The climate is already changing and it will continue to change, even with reduced emissions. Adaptation and building up resilience to extreme weather events is essential. Flood Re CEO Andy Bord thinks governments are not prioritising flood resilience enough. Bord has said that whilst he applauds efforts to reduce emissions to meet net-zero, the UK needs to “urgently adapt to the increased frequency of flooding and extreme weather events”.
Investment by governments into man-made flood defences and increased education for home and business owners can help to improve resilience. In other parts of the world, the protection and restoration of natural defences such as mangroves and coral reefs is important for resilience. In this article written earlier this year, we explore the main measures for increasing UK flood resilience and how these can reduce the impact of losses and payouts made by insurers.
COP26 and Insurance: The key themes
Throughout the period of COP26, conversations and announcements for insurers focused on a few key themes. This article explores the insurance protection gap, reaching net-zero by 2050, the move to mandatory regulatory reporting and opportunities for insurers.
Live Event: Climate Change Risks and Opportunities Today - What This Means for You
The emergence of climate risk and impact reporting frameworks and increasing regulatory requirements mean that all companies must demonstrate how they will measure and reduce their climate impact. Join us for our next Live Event, sponsored by S&P Global, which will focus on practical solutions, opportunities, and real examples of what insurers, technology and data companies can do to respond to this challenge.
In the news...
AXA XL launches new Coastal Risk Index
At COP26, AXA XL launched the Coastal Risk Index (CRI). It is a tool that maps current and future flood risk resulting from climate change, incorporating the protective benefits of mangrove and coral reef ecosystems. This will help to price risk more accurately and allow insureds to better understand their exposure to coastal flooding.
ICEYE partnerships: MIS and Aon
The first partnership announced will see ICEYE’s proprietary flood hazard data being used to support McKenzie Intelligence Service’s (MIS) delivery of property loss figures to Lloyd’s, through the MIS Global Events Observer (GEO) platform. ICEYE has also announced a partnership with Aon, to help insurers manage flood risk in Japan. ICEYE’s data will be combined with Aon’s digital building datasets to deliver near real-time insights on the potential impacts of flood events. Keep an eye out for our upcoming InsTech online event with ICEYE, following on from our Steel Yard event last week.
Global Resilience Index Initiative launched at COP26
The Global Resilience Index Initiative (GRII) is a group of organisations aiming to provide a globally consistent model for the assessment of climate resilience across all sectors and geographies. GRII partners and supporters include Bristol-based flood data and modelling company Fathom, Oasis Loss Modelling Framework, Willis Towers Watson, GEM and the Insurance Development Forum (IDF).
Ambiental and WhenFresh extend partnership
Ambiental’s FloodScore Climate data suite is now available via WhenFresh’s API. Matthew spoke to Mark Cunningham on podcast episode 111, covering how insurers can connect to the WhenFresh database. Mark also gave some recent updates at our Live Event, available to listen to as a podcast here.
Munich Re and FloodFlash announce parametric partnership
Reinsurer Munich Re is now the main capacity provider for FloodFlash, an MGA that offers parametric flood insurance to SMEs and landlords. The partnership allows FloodFlash to increase the cover limits available to it in the UK.
Neptune Flood and Indium announce partnership
Neptune Flood, an MGA focused on the US flood market, has partnered with US independent agency network Indium. Neptune offers coverage limits higher than the level of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
FloodMapp develops Waze integration
FloodMapp, the Australia-based flood mapping technology provider, has developed an integration of its models with satellite navigation software Waze. FloodMapp provides its predictions of when roads are likely to be flooded and is now able to report them as hazards into the Waze app. We recently spoke to Previsico, which is offering UK surface water flood forecasting, about what they are doing with Zurich on podcast episode 162.
Over 50% of losses from European floods from residential buildings
The European Commission and the World Bank explored disaster risk and prevention in EU member states in a recent report, using JBA’s probabilistic flood models. The report found that damage to residential buildings forms over 50% of total loss for both flood and earthquake risk in current and future scenarios. This highlights the need to increase access to and uptake of catastrophe household insurance across the EU.
Event: GeoInsurance and Climate Change - Risk & Regulation
At this online event on 2 December, Gamma Location Intelligence will report on the number of UK properties at risk from future events such as flooding, and will estimate the potential cost of property damage due to climate change. It will also cover how Gamma is helping insurers and MGAs reduce their climate change risk exposure.
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