Globally, insurers paid over $22bn in 2009 to pay claims related to natural disasters – winter storms, tornadoes, floods and their ilk – according to a study produced by insurance giant Munich Re at the end of 2009 (link).
The report states bluntly that they attribute a steady increase in the number of weather-related catastrophes to climate change. Their study notes that the number of natural catastrophes has almost tripled since 1950. Despite three years of relatively flat numbers, the company feels the trend is still upward.
Torsten Jeworrek, a Munich Re Board member said, “We look closely at a multitude of risks and how best to handle them. Risks that change in the course of time are especially hazardous. Climate change is just such a risk of change.” The report goes on to say that “losses caused by climate change will continue to increase in the future.”
So… insurers with global perspective are concerned about climate change and its material impact on business.
Some insurers have taken this as an opportunity to define themselves in the marketplace with innovative products and services designed to reduce business exposure to catastrophes made more frequent – or worse – by climate change.
Ceres produced a report earlier in 2009 that identified how insurers are adapting themselves to a changing climate.
The point here is that the elements that build a sustainability program aren’t only tangible, visible assets – such as building a ‘green’ building, or reducing the hazardous waste produced. The best programs can manifest themselves in so many other ways, and all elements are integrated back to a common operational goal and philosophy.
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