Nancy Watkins On Climate Risk And The US Insurance Industry

US home insurers suffered their worst underwriting loss this century in 2023, as claims came pouring in for storms, floods, wildfires, and more. Inflation and the crowding of high-risk areas contributed to the red ink, but extreme weather events were also a factor. These are due to become more frequent and severe because of climate change. Nancy Watkins specializes in climate resilience, insurtech and catastrophic property risk at Milliman, the actuarial consultancy. She joins Climate Proofers to discuss the headwinds facing the US insurance market and the resilience measures that individuals, communities, and public authorities could take to ease the emerging affordability and availability crisis. We also examine the role of catastrophe (or ‘cat’) models in the insurance industry, and their importance in a climate-transformed world. Sign up to climateproof.news for a twice-weekly dose of climate adaptation & resilience news and insights. Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]