Climate change raises questions on insurers' capacity to insure risks

Singapore

CLIMATE change has become a top concern among global insurers and reinsurers, as the rising frequency and severity of natural catastrophes raise questions on their ability to anticipate and capacity to insure the risks.

The PwC Insurance Banana Skins 2019 report, undertaken by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, finds that climate change is now seen as a much more urgent threat to the industry than in previous years.

In the latest report, it was ranked sixth among top 10 concerns overall. It would have ranked higher but for life insurers who did not cite it as a top concern.

Among non-life insurers, however, it was the No 3 concern, and among reinsurers No 2.

Global warming and the increased incidence of natural catastrophes are a particular worry in emerging Asia where insurance penetration is among the wo…