Reinsurance Association of America's Senate Testimony on Climate Change

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Sat, 2013-10-05 17:08 — admin

On July 18, 2013, Frank Nutter, President of the Reinsurance Association of America, testified before the Senate Committee on Environment Protection and Public Works as to the RAAs perspective on weather and climate-related impacts in the United States.

Following are excerpts from his report:

"In the 1980’s, the average number of natural catastrophes globally was 400 events per year. In recent years, the average is 1000. Munich Re’s analysis suggests the increase is driven almost entirely by weather-related events. North America has seen a fivefold increase in the number of such events since 1980. In comparison, Europe has seen a twofold increase.

In this regard, it is indisputable that the recent rise in damages, insured, economic and uninsured, is heavily influenced by the concentration of people and property in geographically vulnerable areas. Urbanization, increased development and population shifts have placed more people with destructible assets in areas most impacted by extreme weather. NOAA’s recent State of the Coast report observes that in a U.S. population of 313 million (based on the 2010 census), coastal shoreline counties comprise 39% or 123 million people; watershed counties comprise 52% of the U.S. population. In coastal shoreline counties, NOAA reports there are 49 million housing units with an expected increase in population of 10 million people before the next census in 2020. The NOAA report notes that an average of 1355 building permits are issued per day in these shoreline counties."

"Insurance is a critical component for economic and social recovery from the effects of extreme weather and climate driven events. Through its pricing structure it is also a mechanism for conveying the consequences of decisions about where and how we build and where people chose to live. In this regard, it must be proactive and forward-looking in a changing climate/weather environment"