Insurance Europe comments on EIOPA–ESM discussion on EU approach to natural catastrophe risks

Insurance Europe has published its views on the ESM-EIOPA paper "Sharing the risk: a European approach to natural catastrophe risk management", contributing to the ongoing policy discussion on how to strengthen Europe's resilience to natural catastrophes and reduce protection gaps.

The industry supports the objective of improving climate resilience and welcomes continued efforts by EIOPA and the European Stability Mechanism to explore possible solutions. It underlines, however, that any EU-level initiative should build on existing national systems and avoid unintended consequences for long-term insurability and affordability.

Insurance Europe stresses that reducing underlying risks and strengthening prevention, notably by investing in adaptation measures are key prerequisites for narrowing protection gaps. It also highlights that existing gaps are rarely driven by a lack of insurance or reinsurance capacity, noting that capacity remains available and supported by strong capital levels.

The paper further points to the importance of addressing demand-side factors, including insurance take-up and risk awareness, and calls for a more detailed assessment of how proposed European mechanisms would interact with existing markets and public-private partnerships.

Commenting on the publication, Nicolas Jeanmart, Head of Personal & General Insurance at Insurance Europe, said:

"Strengthening resilience to climate-related disasters is essential, and the industry is fully committed to contributing to this goal. Any European approach should build on what already works at national level, focus on reducing underlying risks, and carefully consider how to complement - rather than duplicate - existing market solutions."

Read the paper:

Insurance Europe views on ESM-EIOPA paper "Sharing the risk: A European approach to natural catastrophe management"