As the founder and managing director of the UK’s only insurance broker proactively using the insurance industry as a vehicle for sustainable development, I read your article, “Climate Change comes in from the cold”, (News Analysis, 20 September) with interest.
Over the past 14 years I have been monitoring the gradual awareness and growth in interest of the effects of climate change on the insurance industry and have attended some of the conferences held on the matter.
While I commend the large insurers for taking this matter seriously, I still feel that the major component missing is the power the industry has to lobby the government.
If insurers are to be expected to provide flood, subsidence and storm cover in the years to come, governments need to work with the industry to ensure the industry can provide the cover as they did with terrorism.
To start off, how about using the entire premium tax income generated by our activities solely for the creation and development of large renewable energy projects – particularly large scale marine renewables – and the building of substantial flood defences.
After all the Netherlands has spent its entire history keeping the sea out of the country – why can’t we?
I appreciate that there are some aspects of the global warming issue which the insurance industry cannot influence.The opening of two new coal power stations in China every week and the rise in cheap commercial aviation in India are difficult issues for post industrial governments to tackle. But they could and should work with the insurance industry to do as much as possible at home.
Postscript
Matthew Criddle
Managing director
Naturesave Policies
