The influence of government regulation on insurers’ responses to climate change
The influence of government regulation on insurers’ responses to climate change
The insurance industry is especially vulnerable to climate change, which is expected to deeply impact insurers’ profitability and ultimately their viability. Despite this, most of the industry’s responses to climate change have been considered insufficient in light of the need to urgently mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; and there have been increasing calls for insurers to take stronger action. While climate risks may previously have been viewed as a distant or ‘non-financial’ problem, promisingly, governments and regulators are recognising that this is no longer the case and are calling on insurers to take account of climate change and climate-related risks. This chapter has the overall aim to consider how government regulation as well as other risks and pressures are influencing insurers’ stronger responses to climate change, with a focus on the coal exclusion policies that have been introduced by a handful of insurers. While it is argued that the reasons for insurers’ actions are complex, the chapter demonstrates that regulation can have a significant influence on insurers’ climate change responses, and further suggests that regulators could encourage stronger actions on the part of insurers by ensuring that regulatory frameworks incentivise such actions.
112-134
Du Toit, Louise
e0fb7237-6c1f-4c3c-9568-71f47f068a06
30 December 2020
Du Toit, Louise
e0fb7237-6c1f-4c3c-9568-71f47f068a06
Du Toit, Louise
(2020)
The influence of government regulation on insurers’ responses to climate change.
In,
Holley, Cameron, Phelan, Liam and Shearing, Clifford
(eds.)
Criminology and Climate: Insurance, Finance and the Regulation of Harmscapes.
(Criminology at the Edge)
1 ed.
Routledge, .
(doi:10.4324/9780429201172-8).
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Book Section
Abstract
The insurance industry is especially vulnerable to climate change, which is expected to deeply impact insurers’ profitability and ultimately their viability. Despite this, most of the industry’s responses to climate change have been considered insufficient in light of the need to urgently mitigate greenhouse gas emissions; and there have been increasing calls for insurers to take stronger action. While climate risks may previously have been viewed as a distant or ‘non-financial’ problem, promisingly, governments and regulators are recognising that this is no longer the case and are calling on insurers to take account of climate change and climate-related risks. This chapter has the overall aim to consider how government regulation as well as other risks and pressures are influencing insurers’ stronger responses to climate change, with a focus on the coal exclusion policies that have been introduced by a handful of insurers. While it is argued that the reasons for insurers’ actions are complex, the chapter demonstrates that regulation can have a significant influence on insurers’ climate change responses, and further suggests that regulators could encourage stronger actions on the part of insurers by ensuring that regulatory frameworks incentivise such actions.
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Published date: 30 December 2020
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Local EPrints ID: 482078
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/482078
PURE UUID: 8cb960f8-5551-4597-a304-6952a70620d0
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Date deposited: 18 Sep 2023 17:03
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:09
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Contributors
Author:
Louise Du Toit
Editor:
Cameron Holley
Editor:
Liam Phelan
Editor:
Clifford Shearing
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