Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

How insurance can support climate resilience

Insurance is gaining importance in and beyond the climate negotiations and offers many opportunities to improve climate risk management in developing countries. However, some caution is needed, if current momentum is to lead to genuine progress in making the most vulnerable more resilient to climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Adoption of the Paris Agreement FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2015).

  2. Dlugolecki, A. F. et al. in Climate Change 1995: Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation of Climate Change (eds Watson, R. T., Zinyowera, M. C. & Moss, R. H.) 539–560 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Vellinga, P. et al. in Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (eds McCarthy, J. J., Canziani, O. F., Leary, N. A., Dokken, D. J. & White, K. S.) 417–450 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Warner, K. et al. Adaptation to Climate Change: Linking Disaster Reduction and Insurance (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat, 2009).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Hallegatte, S. Economic Resilience: Definition and Measurement (World Bank, 2014).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Linnerooth-Bayer, J. & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. Climatic Change 133, 85–100 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. IPCC Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (eds Field, C. B. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2012).

  8. Suarez, P. & Linnerooth-Bayer, J. Insurance-Related Instruments for Disaster Risk Reduction (International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Building an Evidence Base on the Role of Insurance-Based Mechanisms in Promoting Climate Resilience (Climate Investment Funds and Vivid Economics, 2016); http://go.nature.com/2KpLTb

  10. Benson, C., Arnold, M., De la Fuente, A. & Mearns, R. Financial Innovations for Social and Climate Resilience: Establishing an Evidence Base (World Bank, 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  11. The Impact of Climate Change on the UK Insurance Sector (Prudential Regulation Authority and Bank of England, 2015).

  12. Mechler, R. et al. Nature Clim. Change 4, 235–237 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bouwer, L. M. Risk Analysis 33, 915–930 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Towards a Framework for the Governance of Infrastructure (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2015)

  15. Surminski, S. Int. Rev. Environ. Res. Econ. 7, 241–278 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper has benefited from research undertaken as part of the FP7 ENHANCE project, EU grant agreement no. 308438. S.S. would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). L.M.B. acknowledges the contribution from the adaption spearhead of Deltares.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Swenja Surminski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Surminski, S., Bouwer, L. & Linnerooth-Bayer, J. How insurance can support climate resilience. Nature Clim Change 6, 333–334 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2979

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2979

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing