COVID-19’s present and foreseeable social and economic impacts are a call to invigorate and recalibrate discussions to address social inequality and explore new approaches driven by public-private partnerships. Private insurance, though not designed to address social inequality per se, can offer financial relief to people or households when calamities strike. Such shocks hit the poorest the hardest.
Climate and flood experts Maryam Golnaraghi and Carolyn Kousky discuss how private insurers in the U.S. can complement the NFIP's residential flood policies by better tailoring products to needs – providing low-cost financial protection – and incentivising mitigation measures.
Watch the entire #RiskConversations webinar on our flood risk research, Building Flood Resilience in a Changing Climate.
The COVID-19 crisis is a stark reminder of other looming threats, physical and digital, with the potential to cause extreme disruption. In an insurance context, the pandemic underscores the importance of clear policy wording, as ambiguity can cause reputational damage to insurance companies and resource-intensive litigation.
InsuranceERM has announced its first 'Most Influential on Climate Change' list, and we congratulate Maryam Golnaraghi, Director Climate Change & Emerging Environmental Topics, for inclusion in this prestigious cadre of people 'leading and shaping the insurance sector's response to climate change'.
Buiding Flood Resilience in a Changing Climate: Insights from the United States, England and Germany
Series of four reports on flood risk management (FRM) systems in the United States, Germany and England reveal that despite many activities, current approaches do not adequately factor in the changing risk landscape linked to climate change, land-use planning and development practices.
The Geneva Association is pleased to announce the elections of three new Board members:
Part of a comprehensive review of flood risk management in five mature economies, this report looks at the system in the United States. It reveals that the government is increasingly committed to building resilience to floods but that a reliance on post-disaster aid and a huge flood insurance gap remain in reality, due to low public awareness and a lack of affordable coverage. A more forward-looking approach to address the increasing level of risk and effects of climate change is recommended.
Part of a comprehensive review of flood risk management in mature economies, this report looks at the system in England, where insurance take-up is high and climate change is taken into account. It finds that the current system is in transition, with focus shifting towards flood resilience; however, progress is slow and more needs to be done to incentivise risk reduction and avoid over-reliance on structural protection and the future availability of insurance.
Part of a comprehensive review of flood risk management in five mature economies, this report looks at the system in Germany. While recognising the gradual shift towards a more anticipatory system focused on risk reduction, prompted by recent floods, it highlights the lack of strategic focus on how to achieve flood resilience and the prevailing underinsurance across the country.