The UN has warned that several financial services firms could face bankruptcy if climate change continues.
Recent studies have shown that global warming is causing more frequent and more devastating storms.
The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) finance report called on the insurance industry to show more leadership in tackling the problem of climate change.
Insurers have also failed to factor in climate change-related risks into premiums, it said.
The report said: "The increasing frequency of severe climatic events...has the potential to stress insurers, reinsurers and banks to the point of impaired viability or even insolvency.
"A pro-active stance by financial institutions will help to reduce the threats they face from climate change while also providing opportunities."
Worldwide economic losses from natural disasters are doubling every ten years, the report said, with the cost of increasing storms rising to $150 billion a year within the ten years.
The report called on financial services companies to raise awareness of the problem of climate change.
The report concluded: "They should also provide products and services that support adaptation and mitigation of climate change."
