The Impact of Climate Change on the Insurance Sector

29 March 2017

Author information:

Anett Pandurics: Posta Biztosító, Chair and CEO; Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies (MABISZ), Chair. E-mail:

Péter Szalai: PEND Consulting Kft, Managing Director. E-mail:

Abstract:

One of the key tasks and core competencies of the insurance sector is to assess natural risks on a continuous basis and to manage the potential impacts of those risks. It is therefore not surprising that from the beginning, the insurance sector has been an active participant in modelling the impact of climate change and in identifying possible solutions. Before coming to our analysis of the relationship between the insurance sector and climate change, it is essential to explain key terms and basic possible impacts. For that reason, we start our paper with a brief summary of the causes of climate change and the most important groups of consequences, and a description of the European milestones on the road to the low-carbon economy. The impact of climate change on the insurance sector is explained through a German and an English example, in each case presenting and construing the assertions of a relevant study. In addition to an explanation of the differences in the approaches which are characteristic of each country, we also considered it important to outline the most important institutional viewpoints: in the German case, we mostly found examples for the insurance sector reacting in search of opportunities, while the English study is suitable to illustrate an approach that is more supervisory and risk-oriented in nature. To break new ground, we conclude our paper by addressing the likely impact of climate change on the Hungarian insurance sector.

Cite as (APA):

Pandurics, A., & Szalai, P. (2017). The Impact of Climate Change on the Insurance Sector. Financial and Economic Review, 16(1), 92–118. https://hitelintezetiszemle.mnb.hu/en/anett-pandurics-peter-szalai

PDF download
The works on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Column:

Study

Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) codes:

G22, Q28, Q54

Keywords:

sustainable insurance, climate hazard, global warming, NCCS-2, low-carbon economy

References:

Bozten, W. J. W. (2013): Managing Extreme Climate Change Risks through Insurance, Cambridge University Press.

Bárczay, A. (2008): A klímaváltozás globális kihívása, hatása a pénzügyi szolgáltatókra (The Global Challenge of Climate Change and Its Effect on Financial Service Poviders). Biztosítási Szemle, January 2008, http://www.biztositas.hu/Hirek-Informaciok/Biztositasi-szemle/2008-januar/a-klimavaltozas-hatasai.html. Downloaded: 2 December 2016.

CAR (2014): U.S. Climate Action Report 2014. First Biennial Report of the United States of America. Sixth National Communication of the United States of America. Under the United Nations Framework. Convention on Climate Change, Published by the U.S. Department of State. Washington DC., https://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/annex_i_natcom/submitted_natcom/application/pdf/2014_u.s._climate_action_report[1]rev.pdf. Downloaded: 6 January 2016.

CBRC (2012): Notice of the China Banking Regulatory Commission CBRC on Issuing the Green Credit Guidelines. http://pfbc-cbfp.org/docs/news/avril-mai-13/RDP12-Mars-2013/DCC-China Banking Regulation - Green Credit Guidelines.pdf. Downloaded: 6 January 2016.

European Commission (2011): Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050. Brussels, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/HU/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX%3A52011DC0112&from=EN Downloaded: 4 February 2016.

Építési Jog (2016): Május 13-án életbe lépett az építési törvény módosítása (Amended Construction Act Effective as of 13 May) (Dr Attila Jámbor). https://epitesijog.hu/1900-a-kztarsasagi-elnk-is-alairta-az-epitesi-trveny-modositasat. Downloaded: 25 November 2016.

GDV (2011): Herausforderung Klimawandel. Antworten und Forderungen der deutschen Versicherer. 24 May. http://www.gdv.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Broschuere_Herausforderung_Klimawandel_2011n.pdf. Downloaded: 4 February 2016.

Gerstengarbe, F. W. (2011): Herausforderung Klimawandel. Antworten und Forderungen der deutschen Versicherer Szenarien für Deutschland. Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die Schadensituation in der Versicherungswirtschaft. PIK, Potsdam, http://www.gdv.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Klimakonferenz_Praes2_Szenarien_fuer_Deutschland_PIK_Gerstengarbe_GDV.pdf. Downloaded: 2 June 2016.

IPCC (2007): Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment, Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm. Downloaded: 1 September 2016.

IPCC (2015): Climate Change 2014 – Synthesis Report, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full_wcover.pdf. Downloaded: 10 August 2016.

KIT (2001): Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die deutsche Versicherungswirtschaft, Endbericht. Arbeitspaket 3b – Anpassungs- und Vermeidungsstrategien: Eine Marktsegmentstudie für den deutschen Versicherungssektor im Auftrag des Gesamtverbands der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft e.V. (GDV). Bearbeiter: Claas Menny, Ute Werner, Matthias Bächlin; Karlsruhe, November. http://risk.fbv.kit.edu/policy/rd_download/Auswirkungen_Klimawandel_auf_dt_Versicherungswirtschaft.pdf. Downloaded: 14 January 2016.

Maddocks, A. – Young, R. S. – Reig, P. (2015): Ranking the World’s Most Water-Stressed Countries in 2040. World Resources Institute, August 26, http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/08/ranking-world’s-most-water-stressed-countries-2040. Downloaded: 20 March 2016.

Meadows, D. – Randers, J. – Meadows, D. (2004): Limits to Growth. The 30-Year Update. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, Vermont.

National Geographic (2005): Visszafordíthatatlan a felmelegedés folyamata? (Is the warming process irreversible?) 25 January. http://www.ng.hu/Civilizacio/2005/01/Visszafordithatatlan_a_felmelegedes_folyamata. Downloaded: 10 September 2016.

NAIC (2008): The Potential Impact of Climate Change on Insurance Regulation, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, USA. http://www.naic.org/documents/cipr_potential_impact_climate_change.pdf. Downloaded: 6 April 2016.

NCCS (2006): National Climate Change Strategy 2008–2025. Future–In Time. http://www.kvvm.hu/cimg/documents/nes080214.pdf. Downloaded: 10 September 2016.

NCCS (2013): Second National Climate Change Strategy 2014–2025, with an outlook to 2050. Policy Discussion Paper. 30 September. http://nak.mfgi.hu/sites/default/files/files/NES_final_131016_kikuld_kozig_egyeztetes.pdf. Downloaded: 14 March 2016.

NCCS-2 (2015): Proposal for a Parliamentary Decision No. H/5054 on the National Climate Change Strategy for 2014–2025, with an outlook to 2050. Budapest, June, http://www.parlament.hu/nyitolap?p_auth=oA55UW3x&p_p_id=pairproxy_WAR_pairproxyportlet_INSTANCE_iBWcfkbPabw9&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_pairproxy_WAR_pairproxyportlet_INSTANCE_iBWcfkbPabw9_pairAction=%2Finternet%2Fcplsql%2Fogy_irom.irom_adat%3Fp_ckl%3D40%26p_izon%3D5054 Downloaded: 2 June 2016.

Oreskes, N. (2004): The Scientific Consensus of Climate Change, in: McKibben, B. (ed.): The Global Warming Reader – A Century of Writing about Climate Change. Pearson. Penguin Books, 2011. pp. 73–78.

Pandurics, A. (2016): A magyar biztosítási szektor aktualitásai (Recent Issues in the Hungarian Insurance Sector), ‘Insurance 2016’ Portfolio Conference talk, 1 March.

PRA (2015): The impact of climate change on the UK insurance sector. A Climate Change Adaptation Report by the Prudential Regulation Authority. September, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/pra/documents/supervision/activities/pradefra0915.pdf. Downloaded: 20 February 2016.

Sachs, J. D. (2015): The Age of Sustainable Development, Chapter 12: Climate Change. Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 393–445.

Schmitt, T. (2011): Versicherer entdecken Klimawandel als Prämienquelle. Handelsblatt, November 17. http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/banken-versicherungen/gdv-jahrestagung-versicherer-entdecken-klimawandel-als-praemienquelle/5856964.html. Downloaded: 2 September 2016.

Svante, A. A. (1896): On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air Upon the Temperature of the Ground. Philosophical Magazine (41), pp. 237–276.

UNEP (2012): PSI Principles for Sustainable Insurance. A global sustainability framework and initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative. UNEP Finance Initiative, June, http://www.unepfi.org/psi/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/PSI-document.pdf. Downloaded: 20 February 2016. Initiative and signatories: http://www.unepfi.org/psi/signatory-companies/

Vereczki, A. (2010): Biztosítás és a szélsőséges időjárás (Insurance and Extreme Weather). Klíma-21 Füzetek (‘Climate 21 Booklets’) (63), pp. 73–82.