Reinsurance News
Climate change news
News on climate change and how it affects the global insurance and reinsurance industry.
Now is the time to address the climate change challenge: Jeworrek, Munich Re
15th June 2020
Torsten Jeworrek, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reinsurance at Munich Re, has said that now is the time to "finally and consistently" address the climate change challenge. In recent months, the global outbreak of COVID-19 has unsurprisingly dominated headlines and, as a result, many have lost sight of the long-term global ... Read the full article
SCOR signs up to UN carbon neutral investment pledge
28th May 2020
SCOR has signed up to the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, an international group of institutional investors that have committed to decarbonise their portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050. Convened by the United Nations (UN), the Alliance aims to help avoid a global temperature increase above the 1.5°C Paris target, and already ... Read the full article
PRA postpones insurance & climate stress tests due to Covid-19 pressures
7th May 2020
The UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), part of the Bank of England, has announced that the planned 2019 insurance stress test results will now not be published, as it pauses further work in this area due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The PRA said that its focus is on ... Read the full article
Apply COVID-19 lessons to climate change, urges Swiss Re’s Ojeisekhoba
23rd April 2020
The re/insurance industry must be prepared to apply the lessons learned from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to the looming climate change crisis, according to Swiss Re’s CEO of Reinsurance, Moses Ojeisekhoba. Writing in a blog post for Swiss Re, Ojeisekhoba argued that the clearest take-away from the pandemic is the need ... Read the full article
GC climate report questions “culture of reliance” on state aid
20th April 2020
A report by re/insurance broker Guy Carpenter has questioned the “culture of reliance” on state assistance for disaster relief, which has emerged as governments increasingly bear the costs of climate change. Guy Carpenter noted that climate change is exacerbating the challenges faced by governments, with natural catastrophes becoming more frequent and ... Read the full article
Swiss Re extends climate policy to exclude oil & gas
21st February 2020
Swiss Re has announced that it will stop providing re/insurance to, or investing in, the most carbon-intensive oil and gas companies, as part of its sustainability targets. In line with this policy, Swiss Re will gradually cut business support in underwriting and asset management to the world’s 10% most carbon-intensive oil ... Read the full article
Munich Re signs up to UN carbon-neutral investment pledge
14th February 2020
German reinsurer Munich Re has signed up to the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, an international group of institutional investors that have committed to decarbonise their portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050. Convened by the United Nations (UN), the Alliance aims to help avoid a global temperature increase above the 1.5°C Paris ... Read the full article
Australian disasters highlight need for long-term resilience: Aon analysts
13th February 2020
The increasing frequency and severity of weather-related disasters in Australia highlight a need to focus on more long-term resilience measures, according to analysts at re/insurance broker Aon. Australia recorded one of its most notable years for weather disasters in 2019, which is already the fifth largest insured loss year over the ... Read the full article
Policymakers must help stimulate sustainable investment: Insurance Europe
13th February 2020
In order to transition to a carbon-neutral economy, more policymaker action is needed to stimulate the supply of sustainable assets for investment, according to Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation. Analysts at Insurance Europe claimed that re/insurers are ready to invest in sustainable assets, but said their willingness and ... Read the full article
Beazley sees opportunity in new forms of climate change cover, says CEO
12th February 2020
Andrew Horton, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of specialist re/insurer Beazley, has said that he is confident that the market can adapt the potential impacts of climate change, and sees the climate challenge as an opportunity to explore new forms of coverage. As part of the release of Beazley’s 2020 results, ... Read the full article
Climate response requires new products & modelling techniques: Cavaciuti-Wishart, AXIS Capital
4th February 2020
A comprehensive response to the complex challenges posed by climate risk will require reinsurers to adapt business models, develop new products, and improve modelling techniques, according to Ellissa Cavaciuti-Wishart, Head of Cat Modelling – International at AXIS Capital. Faced with the unpredictability of climate-related impacts, reinsurers must develop ever more sophisticated, ... Read the full article
Reinsurance a powerful enabler in mitigating climate change: Swiss Re’s Berger
3rd February 2020
The re/insurance industry is proving to be a powerful enabler in mitigating the effects of climate change, and has been spurred on by the shortcomings of government action, according to Andreas Berger, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Berger noted that the industry has been accelerating its investment in low-carbon initiatives ... Read the full article
Finance is a “critical lever” to climate transformation: Swiss Re’s Mumenthaler
28th January 2020
Swiss Re CEO Christian Mumenthaler has argued that finance – and reinsurance in particular – is a “critical lever” to achieving the kind of global transformation necessary to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Writing in an article for the World Economic Forum (WEF), Mumenthaler expressed concern about the lack of ... Read the full article
Climate change adaptation must happen at scale: Swiss Re’s Scotti at Davos
27th January 2020
The potential impacts of climate change and required adaptation has been on the re/insurance industry’s radar, but what needs to happen, is adaptation at scale, according to Veronica Scotti, Chairperson Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re. Speaking on a panel last week at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Swiss ... Read the full article
Climate a factor in catastrophes & virus outbreaks: AXA CEO Buberl, at Davos
27th January 2020
For the insurance and reinsurance industry climate change is a common factor that is seen to affect the rate of catastrophe losses and also the incidence of virus outbreaks, AXA Group CEO Thomas Buberl explained. While trends remain uncertain, when it comes to the impact of climate change on the occurrence ... Read the full article