Insurers to gain from $100bn Arctic investment: Lloyd's

The insurance industry stands to gain from the estimated $100bn (£62.7bn) of investment in the Arctic over the next ten years, according to a report commissioned by Lloyd’s and Chatham House.

The report, ‘‘Arctic opening: Opportunity and Risk in the High North,’ said that shipping, oil, gas and mining will be the main business growth areas in the area.

The report said: “Many of the operational risks to Arctic economic development – particularly oil and gas developments, and shipping – amplify one another.

“At the same time, the resilience of the Arctic’s ecosystems to withstand risk events is weak, the political and corporate sensitivity to a disaster is high and the environmental consequences of disasters in the Arctic are likely to be worse than in other regions.”

Lloyd’s chief executive Richard Ward said: “Business activity in the Arctic region is undeniably increasing, and the impact of climate change means that this is likely to grow significantly in the future.

“So businesses, governments and industry must start to think now about how they will manage the substantial, and unique, risks they will face when doing business in the Arctic region.”

Chatham House Energy, Environment & Resource Governance Programme lead author Charles Emmerson said: “The Arctic region is changing more rapidly than anywhere else on earth. More research into the unknowns is essential to ensure that the risks and incentives of further exploration in the region are better aligned.”