Insurance companies lack awareness of nature-related risks

Nature-related risks, covering natural assets such as land and water on which humans depend, are neglected by the insurance underwriters, according to a report from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and insurance industry group ClimateWise.

The report found that, while 2021 data showed that half of insurers surveyed by the Sustainable Insurance Forum believe that nature-related risks are material for their underwriting business, these risks are not currently being assessed by the majority of the industry. This is due to a lack of awareness and understanding of nature-related risks and other factors such as regulatory and supervisory guidance.