Book launch explores solutions to disaster insurance crisis
Disaster Insurance Reimagined sheds light on the potential solutions to the growing crisis in disaster insurance
As natural disasters increase in frequency around the globe leaving countries struggling to respond to the resulting devastation, leading academics launched their topical new book, Disaster Insurance Reimagined: Protection in a Time of Increasing Risk, at a special event hosted by Guy Carpenter on Tuesday 17 October 2023.
Published by Oxford University Press (OUP), Disaster Insurance Reimagined arrives at a critical time for the planet and insurance industry. The book sheds light on the potential solutions to the growing crisis in disaster insurance as more and more vulnerable people are unable to access essential cover in an increasingly unpredictable world. It has been described by leading academics and practitioners as a “must-read” for decision-makers and risk professionals.
Written by Professor Paula Jarzabkowski (University of Queensland and Bayes Business School), Dr Konstantinos Chalkias (Birkbeck, University of London), Dr Eugenia Cacciatori (Bayes Business School) and Dr Rebecca Bednarek (Victoria University Wellington), the new open-access text unveils the complexities of the disaster insurance system and it suggests creative solutions to how we can build more sustainable forms of social protection in the future.
Aimed at industry professionals and the general public, the book moves beyond individual case studies to analyse the broader themes of how knowledge, control, and responsibility affect the insurability of disaster risk. In particular, it explores the growing role and importance of 'Protection Gap Entities' (PGEs), not-for-profit entities providing insurance protection that would otherwise be unaffordable or unavailable within a purely private sector context.
At the book launch, the authors emphasised the importance of insurance in advanced, emerging, and developing economies, and Professor Jarzabkowski used a series of evocative examples to reimagine a future in which disaster insurance can continue to thrive as a source of financial and physical resilience to disasters.
Following the talk, there were two panels of leading industry and government speakers on key themes that have been raised by the book. Panel 1 discussed “Finding the Holy Grail: Making Insurance a Source of Climate Adaptation”, while panel 2 discussed “Who Should Pay? The Rising Cost of Insurance in a Disaster-Prone World”.
Speakers included Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Secretary General, IDF Insurance Development Forum; Andy Bord, CEO, Flood Re; Francisco S. Espejo Gil, Assistant Director, Research and International Relations, Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros; Tom Clementi, CEO, Pool Re; Franziska Arnold-Dwyer, Senior Lecturer in Insurance Law, Contract Law and Sustainability, Queen Mary University of London; and Tina Kirby, Senior Underwriter, Munich Re.
Speaking about the book, Professor Jarzabkowski said:
“At a time when we are seeing insurers withdrawing from offering insurance to homeowners in key markets, such as Australia, Canada and the USA, and premium prices rising in European countries due to repeated extreme weather events, our book explains why disaster insurance is being eroded by climate change and, importantly to protect homeowners, what we can do about that.”
Julian Enoizi, CEO of Guy Carpenter, Europe, said:
“It is a ground-breaking exposé of the vital role of PGEs in the form of public-private partnerships in covering protection gaps on disasters from earthquake, flood, cyclone, and drought to terrorism in developed and developing markets.”