The (Re)Insurance Industry’s Roles in the Integration of Nature-Based Solutions for Prevention in Disaster Risk Reduction—Insights from a European Survey
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being considered as an option to reduce societies’ vulnerability to natural hazards, creating co-benefits while protecting ecosystem services in a context of changing climate patterns with more frequent and extreme weather events. The reinsurance and ins...
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Published in | Sustainability Vol. 11; no. 22; pp. 6212 - 24 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Basel
MDPI AG
01.11.2019
MDPI |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being considered as an option to reduce societies’ vulnerability to natural hazards, creating co-benefits while protecting ecosystem services in a context of changing climate patterns with more frequent and extreme weather events. The reinsurance and insurance industries are increasingly cited as sectors that can play a role to help manage risks, by improving disaster risk reduction (DRR) and loss prevention. This paper investigates how the (re)insurance industry could support the transition from a paradigm focused on ex-post responses to ex-ante risk reduction measures including NBS, in line with the Sendai Framework. This paper presents the results of a series of 61 interviews undertaken with the (re)insurance sector and related actors under the EU H2020 Nature Insurance Value Assessment and Demonstration (NAIAD) project. Methods based on a Grounded Theory approach indicate how this sector can play different roles in loss prevention, including ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR). Results illustrate how the (re)insurance industry, under these roles, is gradually innovating by having a better understanding of hazards and mitigation. The findings of the study contribute to wider discussions such as the possibility of new arrangements like natural insurance schemes and evidence-based assessment of avoided damage costs from green protective measures, in Europe and beyond. |
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ISSN: | 2071-1050 2071-1050 |
DOI: | 10.3390/su11226212 |