Insurance Europe response to the EC call for evidence on European climate resilience and risk management
Insurance Europe emphasizes the critical and timely nature of the European Commission's efforts to establish a comprehensive framework for climate resilience, fully endorsing the EC's direction. The insurance industry, actively involved in the climate change dialogue, witnesses the escalating impact of frequent and severe weather events firsthand, which, alongside other factors, drives up claims costs and threatens the affordability of insurance. To address this, the industry seeks to evolve its role beyond risk management to actively contribute to long‑term resilience, stressing the priority of emission reduction efforts and highlighting the criticality of prevention in maintaining insurability. They propose key collaborative initiatives with public authorities, including large‑scale awareness campaigns, tailored resilience toolkits, transparent risk disclosure, and standardized resilience certifications. The document concludes by underscoring that building climate resilience is a shared responsibility, advocating for tailored strategies, improved data access, essential public‑private collaboration‑especially with local authorities- and a shift towards ex‑ante funding for resilience‑building through initiatives like an EU‑level Climate Resilience Investment Fund.