Tag Archives: insurance

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25 November 2019, The Guardian. Scott Morrison and the big lie about climate change: does he think we’re that stupid? f all the horrors that might befall the burnt-out, the flooded, the cyclone-ravaged and the drought-stricken Australian this summer, perhaps … Continue reading →

PLEA Network

13 March 2018, Munich RE, Natural disasters in 2017 were a sign of things to come – New coverage concepts are needed. 2017 was a wake-up call. After a number of relatively benign years, natural disasters in 2017 caused overall losses of … Continue reading →

PLEA Network

22 January 2018, The Guardian, Lloyd’s of London to divest from coal over climate change. Firm follows other big UK and European insurers by excluding coal companies from 1 April. Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market, has become the latest financial firm to announce that it plans to stop investing in coal companies. Lloyd’s will start to exclude coal from its investment strategy from 1 April. The definition of what is a coal company and the criteria for divestment will be set over the coming months. The firm has long been vocal about the need to battle climate change, with insurance one of the worst affected industries by hurricanes, wildfires and flooding in recent years. The insurance market decided last month to implement a coal exclusion policy as part of a responsible investment strategy for the central mutual fund that sits behind every insurance policy written by the Lloyd’s market. Inga Beale, Lloyd’s of London chief executive, said: “That means that in the areas of our portfolio where we can directly influence investment decisions we will avoid investing in companies that are involved mainly in coal. “Is there more the insurance sector could be doing to help the world transition to a low-carbon economy by choosing sustainable or low-carbon stocks?” Lloyd’s does not underwrite operations directly, but offers a marketplace to almost 90 syndicates of other insurers. Lloyd’s has been slower to take action than others. Other big UK and European insurance companies, including Aviva, Allianz, Axa, Legal & General, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich, have been shifting away from coal and other fossil fuels due to concerns about climate risks. About £15bn has been divested by insurers in the past two years, according to a recent report from Unfriend Coal Network, a global coalition of NGOs and campaigners including 350.org and Greenpeace. It said 15 companies – almost all in Europe – have fully or partially cut financial ties by selling holdings in coal companies and refusing to insure their operations. Read More here

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18 December 2017, Inman, The coastal mortgage time bomb. Experts worry that if insurers start to pull out of flood-prone seaside communities, it could cause a crisis worse than 2008. 2017 will be remembered as the year the water came. Hurricane Harvey dropped as much as 60 inches of rain on parts of Houston, shattering American meteorological records. Hurricane Irma was the strongest tropical storm ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and plowed through Florida in early September, turning Miami’s main drag into a raging river. And Category 4 Hurricane Maria pulverized Puerto Rico with 150-mph winds, leaving the island in darkness and ruin. Altogether, the three storms will cost the U.S. more than $200 billion, which would make 2017 the most expensive hurricane season on record.Yet there is every reason to expect that the towns and the cities hit by the hurricanes of 2017 will be rebuilt — even, eventually, devastated Puerto Rico. Thank the federal government — when a storm or flood strikes a community, Washington is there with generous disaster relief, either through billions of dollars in direct aid or through the cushion of federally-subsidized flood insurance plans. The confidence in the federal government’s backing keeps lenders sending money to disaster-hit communities, which encourages residents to stay put and rebuild, rather than flee for safer areas. This in turn ensures that tax money keeps flowing to local governments. That’s why New Orleans, more than 10 years after suffering through one of the worst hurricanes on record, now has a tax base twice as large as it did before Katrina, and why the South Florida city of Homestead is nearly three times as populous as it was before Hurricane Andrew flattened it in 1992. Read More here