Pathways to Climate-Resilient Decarbonised Critical Infrastructure in the 21st Century

COVID-19 has sparked debate on the role of insurers in shouldering losses related to pandemics. In addition to the sickness-related impacts of the virus, government-imposed lockdowns have caused widespread business interruption. Insurers are promptly paying all legitimate claims, but COVID-19 has revealed gaps in coverage.

Our research series on pandemics and insurance investigates, in number terms, the capacities of insurers to absorb pandemic-related costs in health, life and business interruption, and feasible public-private protection solutions.

Although cyber risk premiums have expanded sizeably in years and loss ratios compare favourably relative to other product lines, sustainable growth of the cyber insurance market should not be taken for granted. In our new report we identify three fundamental prerequisites to make cyber risk insurable. Despite recent advances, cyber risk creates unprecedented challenges; most notably accumulation risk, which is at the heart of many concerns about cyber risk. 

Physical climate risks associated with extreme weather events are increasing due to climate change.

Insurance relationships are fundamentally built on trust between insurers and their customers. Customers trust that insurers will act in ways that ensure their solvency and that they will promptly pay claims when they are due; insurers in turn trust that policyholders will make sure to minimise their risk after signing a policy and that any claims they make will be genuine. Certain shifts such as digitalisation, however, may pose a threat to customer trust as concerns around data privacy, misuse of information and bias or discrimination arise.