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Kennedys lawyers, in association with Thomson Reuters Practical Law, have produced a guide that sets out key considerations for the insurance and reinsurance industry in relation to climate change. It explains the financial impact of climate change on the industry, the main regulatory obligations on insurers and the key risks and changes that are occurring in different lines of business.
Led by Denise Eastlake, Legal Director, the guide was written by the following Kennedys lawyers: Denise Eastlake, Hannah Williams, Fran Shaw, Maeve Morrissey, Brittany Ling, Michael Biltoo, Louis Foscolo, Zane Fookes, Ryan Webb, Niall Edwards and Ann Dingemans.
The Climate Guide delves into the climate related regulation, varied claims risk and trends impacting financial and professional lines from an insurer, reinsurer and insured perspective. It arms insurers and brokers with information to help evaluate and protect against climate related risks facing their own business as well as that of their FL clients.
The breadth and depth of knowledge we have here at Kennedys enabled us to address the impact of climate change for insurers and reinsurers right across all lines of business.
Increasing claims
The guide addresses a number of key trends, including the fact that, increasingly, there are “hidden” climate-related claims in addition to the more obvious natural catastrophe events. It also includes commentary from a number of experts. For example, Birgit Vosper, Head of Global Practice Group Liability for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, reports claims arising from melting bitumen that Allianz had not seen in the past, commenting: “While these may not be specifically labelled as climate-related claims, this is exactly what they are because the materials are melting as a result of the extreme temperatures.”
The guide addresses a number of additional trends, in particular:
- It considers the impact of climate change on the industry, including the economic and financial impact on both insureds and insurers.
- It considers the industry memberships and organisations working to tackle climate change.
- It outlines the main regulatory obligations insurers are facing, as well as the key risks and changes that are occurring in different lines of business (such as, financial lines, property and construction, marine and motor insurance).
- It identifies new insurance products and innovations that are being developed to deal with the impacts of climate change.
Denise Eastlake says: "It was extremely rewarding to collaborate with Practical law to prepare this piece. The breadth and depth of knowledge we have here at Kennedys enabled us to address the impact of climate change for insurers and reinsurers right across all lines of business. It was truly a team effort."
It may be impossible to properly capture all the claims that are attributable to the impacts of climate change.
You can read the guide, reproduced with the permission of the publishers, below. For further information visit www.practicallaw.com.
Related items:
- https://kennedyslaw.com/en/news/2023/kennedys-creates-pioneering-insurance-product-to-help-tackle-climate-change/
- https://kennedyslaw.com/en/thought-leadership/article/climate-accountability-of-companies-and-their-boards/
- https://kennedyslaw.com/en/thought-leadership/reports/rewriting-the-risk-addressing-the-challenge-of-climate-change/
- https://kennedyslaw.com/en/thought-leadership/focus-areas/climate-change/
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