Climate change requires insurer attention

A report recently released by Allianz Group and the World Wildlife Fund reveals that insurers need to increase their efforts in dealing with damages resulting from climate change.Insurers are called to the table by the report, entitled “Climate Change and Insurance: An Agenda for Action in the United States,” to work with catastrophe modelers and scientists to increase the accuracy of climate change modeling and better understand potential problems related to such changes.In addition insurers are asked to work alongside the government and “allow for the adjustment of homeowner insurance rates and flood insurance rates, and to develop appropriate price and risk signals to consumers and businesses moving into high-risk areas. Insurers only exit markets as a last resort; however if governments and regulators do not allow for more pricing flexibility, exiting markets become the last option.”Insurers are further called upon to become more active when it comes to land use and planning and increase lobbying efforts to improve building codes.