Skip to main content

Insurance, Climate-Risk and the Barriers to Change

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Governance and Limited Statehood Series ((GLS))

Abstract

The cost of extreme weather events, resulting from climate change, has increased by 37 per cent per decade since the 1980s (Mills, 2009). This has raised serious questions about the financial sustainability of the insurance industry and, indeed, about its future role as the world’s risk manager, prompting the industry to begin to reflect on how it might better manage the impacts of climate risk in the future.

This work is based on research supported in part by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors, and the NRF accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Argyris, C. and Schön, D.A. (1978) Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective (Reading: MA Addison-Wesley).

    Google Scholar 

  • Association of British Insurers (2010) Fighting Flood Risk Together. London: Association of British Insurers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, T. (2003) ‘Adverse Selection and Risk Classification’, in R. Ericson and A. Doyle (eds) Risk and morality (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, G. (1972) ‘Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry’, Evolution and Epistemology (New Jersey and London: Jason Aronson).

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, K. and Williams, S. (2012) ‘Is Insurance an Under-Utilised Mechanism in Climate Change Adaptation? The Case of Bushfire Management in Tasmania’, Australian Journal of Emergency Management 27, 38–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Börzel, T.A. and Risse, T. (2010) ‘Governance without a State: Can it Work?’, Regulation and Governance 4, 113–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Business Week (2011) Insurers’ 2011 Disaster Losses Worst Since 2005, Swiss Re Says. http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LW7CT46KLVRE01-6AC7D8NBN3STTILC19IGKRTGEJ, date [accessed 17 February 2012].

  • Cole, D. and Grossman, P. (1999) ‘When is Command and Control Efficient?’, Wisconsin Law Review 887–938.

    Google Scholar 

  • ClimateWise (2007) The ClimateWise Principles. http://www.climatewise.org.uk/storage/The%20ClimateWise%20Principles.pdf, date [accessed 1 March 2010].

  • ClimateWise (2010) Global insurance industry statement on Adapting to climate change in developing countries (London: ClimateWise).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dibrell, C., Craig, J.B. and Hansen, E.N. (2011) ‘How Managerial Attitudes Toward the Natural Environment Affect Market Orientation and Innovation’, Journal of Business Research 64, 4, 401–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durant, R.F., Chun, Y., Kim, B. and Lee, S. (2004) ‘Toward a New Governance Paradigm for Environmental and Natural Resources Management in the 21st Century?’, Administration Society 35, 6, 643–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ericson, R., Barry, D. and Doyle, A. (2000) ‘The Moral Hazards of Neoliberalism: Lessons from the Private Insurance Industry’, Economy and Society 29 4, 523–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrier, D. and Whelan, R. (2004) ‘(Why) Do We Need Threatened Species Legislation?’, in P. Hutchings, D. Lunney and C. Dickman (eds) Threatened Species Legislation Is It Just An Act? (Royal Zoological Society of NSW).

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, J. and Farber, D.A. (2005) ‘Modular Environmental Regulation’, Duke Law Journal 54, 795–909.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gantz, T. and Henkle, G. (2002) Prevention Institute: Seatbelts: Current Issues at: http://thrive.preventioninstitute.org/traffic_seatbelt.html.

  • Gelbspan, R. (1998) The Heat is On: The High Stakes Battle over Earth’s Threatened Climate (New York: Perseus).

    Google Scholar 

  • Grace, M. and Klein, R. (2009) ‘The Perfect Storm: Hurricanes, Insurance, and Regulation’, Risk Management and Insurance Review 12, 1, 81–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunningham, N., Grabowsky, P. and Sinclair, D. (1998) Smart Regulation: Designing Environmental Policy (Oxford: Clarendon Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunningham, N. and Sinclair, D. (2002) Leaders and Laggards: Next Generation Environmental Regulation (Sheffield: Greenleaf).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1968) ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, Science 162, 1243–1248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haufler, V. (2006) ‘Insurance and Reinsurance in a Changing Climate’, The Encyclopedia of Earth 15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hecht, S.B. (2008) ‘Climate Change and the Transformation of Risk: Insurance Matters’, UCLA Law Review 55, 1559–1620.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heimer, C.A. (1985) ‘Reactive Risk and Rational Action. Managing Moral Hazard’, in Insurance Contracts (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heimer, C.A. (2003) ‘Insurers as Moral Actors’, in R. Ericson and A. Doyle (eds) Risk and morality (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Herweijer, C., Ranger, N. and Ward, R. (2009) ‘Adaptation to Climate Change: Threats and Opportunities for the Insurance Industry’, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance: Issues and Practice 34, 360–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holley, C., Gunningham, N. and Shearing, C. (2011) The New Environmental Governance (Oxford: Earthscan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, A., Fortune, G. and Chasi, V. (2010) Risk and Development Annual Review (RADAR): Western Cape, 2010. Rondebosch: Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme, University of Cape Town.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) ‘Summary for Policymakers’, in B. Metz, O.R., Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave and L.A. Meyer (eds) Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R.S. and Norton, D.P. (1992) The Balanced Scorecard — Measures that Drive Performance, in E.M. Krekel, C. Diensberg, and B. Schobert (eds) Harvard Business Review 70, 1, 71–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, I. (2012) The ClimateWise 2012 Thought Leadership Series: Issue Two: The Value of Ecosystem Resilience to Insurers (London: ClimateWise).

    Google Scholar 

  • Leggett, J. (1993) Climate Change and the Insurance Industry: Solidarity among the Risk Community (Amsterdam: Greenpeace International).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lobo-Guerrero, L. (2008) ‘Pirates, Stewards, and the Securitization of Global Circulation’, International Political Sociology 2, 219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. (1991) ‘Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning’, Organization Science 2, 1, 71–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J. and Simon, H. (1958) Organizations (New York: Wiley).

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslakovic, M. (2011) Financial Market Series: Fund Management (London: The City UK).

    Google Scholar 

  • Maynard, T. and Ranger, N. (2011) ‘What Role for “Long-Term” Insurance in Adaptation? An Analysis of the Prospects for and Pricing of Multi-Year Insurance Contracts’, Change 26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Health Synthesis (Geneva: World Health Organisation).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, E. (2005) ‘Insurance in a Climate of Change’, Science 309, 1040–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, E. (2009) From Risk to Opportunity: Insurer Responses to Climate Change (Berkeley: Ceres).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, S.C. and Ekstrom, J.A. (2010) ‘A Framework to Diagnose Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, 51, 22026–22031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munich, R.E. (2012) Worldwide Natural Disasters 1980–2011: Overall and Insured Losses Munich RE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nader, R. (1987) ‘Loss Prevention and the Insurance function’, Suffolk University Law Review 21, 3, 679–689.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nel, J., Le Maitre, D., Forsyth, G., Theron, A. and Archibald, S. (2011) Understanding the Implications of Global Change for the Insurance Industry: The Eden Case Study (Stellenbosch: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research).

    Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, M. (1999) ‘Global Finance and Environmental Politics Climate Change’, Ids Bulletin, 30, 3, 25–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, M. (2001) ‘Risky Business: Insurance Companies in Global Warming Politics’, Global Environmental Politics 1, 4, 18–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phelan, L., Taplin, R., Hendersen-Sellers, A. and Albrecht, G. (2011) ‘Ecological Viability or Liability? Insurance System Responses to Climate-risk’, Environmental Policy and Governance 21, 112–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R. (2002) ‘The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy’, Harvard Business Review 80, 56–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santam (2011) Santam: Annual Report 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, N.H. (2007) The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • The Geneva Association (2011) Global Insurance Industry Fact-sheet (Geneva: The Geneva Association).

    Google Scholar 

  • UNEP FI (2007) Insuring for Sustainability. Why and How the Leaders are doing it www.unepfi.org/publications/insurance/ date [accessed 20 June 2011].

  • UNEP-Fi (2011) Insurance in a Changing Risk Landscape: Local lessons from the Southern Cape of South Africa, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, M. (2010) ‘The Need for a Multi-Level Approach to Climate Change — An Australian Insurance Perspective’, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Issues and Practice 35, 336–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2013 Tom Herbstein, Jan Froestad, Deon Nel and Clifford Shearing

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Herbstein, T., Froestad, J., Nel, D., Shearing, C. (2013). Insurance, Climate-Risk and the Barriers to Change. In: Börzel, T., Hamann, R. (eds) Business and Climate Change Governance. Governance and Limited Statehood Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137302748_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics