CII launches third landmark study of climate change
Press Release / News item
24/02/2009
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has launched their third major study of climate change at an event that took place at the CII this afternoon.
Entitled Coping with Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities for Insurers, the report was edited by Dr Andrew Dlugolecki, FCII and shared Nobel peace prize winner is being published by the CII in association with its London Market Faculty.
An event launching the report took place at the CII on Monday 23 February. It was sponsored by AXA and included speeches by Dr Dlugolecki; Truska Angel, Head of Climate Change at AXA Insurance; Alice Chapple, Director of Sustainable Financial Markets at Forum for the Future; Colin Challen, MP and member of the House of Commons Energy & Climate Change Committee. Then a debate took place on the role of insurance in leading adaptation for climate change, moderated by CII Chief Executive Dr Alexander Scott.
Dr Alexander Scott, Chief Executive Officer, CII, said “As people who understand and manage risk, insurers are naturally well placed to lead the way in analysing and quantifying the risk of climate change. It is crucial for insurers to make climate change a priority, especially given the danger that the current economic situation could distract attention away from the urgency of climate change. This report highlights some of the most serious issues that lie ahead, and emphasises the clear and pressing need for insurers to assess and effectively manage these risks. Insurers have a key role to play.”
Dr Andrew Dlugolecki, editor and chief author of the research said “This report goes further than previous reports in identifying that climate change is already a much greater threat than consumers and businesses think. For insurers there is the need to cope with new levels of extreme events. For society, the impacts overseas could have huge consequences for us, and could threaten insurability. At the same time, innovative insurance products could help developing countries deal with climatic problems, and assist businesses everywhere to overcome more variable weather. Well-structured regulations could bring about positive benefits, and we hope government will pay attention to the report’s recommendations.”
Truska Angel, Head of Climate change at AXA Insurance commented “We are delighted to be supporting this very important piece of research. It is crucial that we begin to take climate change more seriously and we are encouraged to see the CII adding to and encouraging the debate. The CII has also recently become a member of Climate Wise, an insurance industry initiative aimed at developing a more pro-active and collaborative effort to help reduce the risk of climate change for us all.”
Coping with Climate Change is one of the most extensive studies produced on climate change from an insurance perspective. It comprises 18 chapters on various aspects of insurance and financial services, written by experts in their respective fields. The chapters detail precisely how climate change could affect policy holders across the economy from consumers to SMEs and major corporations, and what preparations the industry should undertake to prepare for the worst effects such as floods, storms and heat waves. The 2009 report is the third piece of research published on this subject by the CII, following from projects released in 1994 and 2001.
The CII will follow up this research with a series of activities including further opinion pieces on climate change.
Contact: Alex Thompson 020 7417 4430.
