How one of the world’s largest insurers is tackling climate change

Climate change is driving up insurance-related losses on a global scale even as homeowners, businesses and communities around the world continue to build in hazard-prone areas such as those that experience frequent flooding or storm damage.

In this episode of ESG Insider, we examine how one of the world’s largest insurers is tackling rising risks from climate change in an interview with Ernst Rauch, Chief Climate and Geo Scientist and Head of the Climate Solutions Unit at Munich Re.

A recent report from the German insurance company found that natural disasters around the world caused about $280 billion in damages in 2021. About $120 billion of those damages involved assets covered by insurance — up from $82 billion in 2020 and $57 billion in 2019.

Ernst explains that there is ample data available to help the insurance industry make informed decisions about exposure to different kinds of climate risks. But this information is not always easily accessible to the public.

“The issue is how to bring this information to the people, to the citizens and to the businesses,” he says.

Listen to our episode on record rainfall in 2021 that caused deadly flooding in Western Europe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/record-floods-highlight-climate-risks-to-business-in/id1475521006?i=1000530552007

We'd love to hear from you. To give us feedback on this episode or share ideas for future episodes, please contact hosts Lindsey Hall (lindsey.white@spglobal.com) and Esther Whieldon (esther.whieldon@spglobal.com).

Photo credit: Getty Images