In February 2012, in the wake of the recent increase in catastrophic weather events, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS)1 announced a joint initiative with the California Department of Insurance and the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner to survey insurance carriers regarding climate change risks and the actions insurers are taking to study and address those risks. At the beginning of March, the DFS informed insurers that participation in the climate risk survey is mandatory for those insurers licensed in New York that collected direct written premium in excess of $300 million in 2011. The survey responses are due by May 7, 2012, and will be published on the DFS website.
The insurance industry is perhaps uniquely situated with regard to climate risk. Insurers have the resources to study climate-related impacts and the incentive to do so in support of their business models to determine pricing, forecast risks and develop products. In addition, insurance carriers are subject to the same climate risks to which other businesses and individuals are subject. These risks threaten to impact a wide range of areas including transportation, business operations, real property, both commercial and residential, power and water supply, personnel issues and investments.
