Ceres has recently issued a new (2014) report entitled: " Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey Report & Scorecard: 2014 Findings & Recommendations", that ranks the nation's 330 largest insurance companies on what they are saying and doing to respond to escalating climate risks. The report can be found at the following link:
https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/insurer-climate-risk-disclosure-survey-report-scorecard-2014-findings-recommendations/viewThe implications of this report were assess by the Insurance Journal that can be found at the following linked website, and the following extracts indicates that generally the insurance industry is poorly prepared to deal with the potential losses associated with climate change. However, some experts criticize the report, possibly because the critics expect the losses from climate change to occur slowly enough to pass the losses on to the insured public via increased premium rates and cancelled policies. I either case, while insurance is the largest industry in the world, it will provide little risk management for the vast majority of the public.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2014/10/22/344497.htmExtract: "A report on the insurance industry released Wednesday shows “a profound lack of preparedness in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities.”
Insurance industry representatives immediately criticized the report as a negative take on the industry’s ability to adapt and not reflective of the commitment many insurers have made to address climate-related risks.
The report from Ceres is based on a survey of 330 insurer disclosures last year in response to a climate risk survey developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The disclosures constitute roughly 87 percent of the U.S. market in direct premiums written, according to the firm.
The report, “Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey Report & Scorecard: 2014 Findings & Recommendations,” ranks property/casualty, health and life and annuity insurers.
The companies were ranked on a four-tier scoring system by grades: “Leading;” “Developing;” “Beginning;” and “Minimal.”
The Ceres report shows 3 percent of companies received the “Leading” ranking. Those were ACE, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Allianz, Prudential, XL Group, The Hartford, Sompo Japan and Zurich. The Hartford and Prudential are the only U.S.-based insurers among the firms with that rank, the report shows.
The vast majority of the insurers earned “Beginning” or “Minimal” rankings. The health and life & annuity insurers surveyed received the lowest “Minimal” ranking, 89 percent and 80 percent respectively, according to the report.
Insurance Information Institute President Robert Hartwig, speaking for the property/casualty industry and reinsurers, took issue with the report.
“I would fundamentally disagree with the premise that the vast majority of insurers are unprepared for the challenges posed by climate change,” Hartwig said.“The property/casualty industry and the reinsurance industry are and have been at the vanguard of managing climate-related risks for decades and in some cases centuries.”"
