Climate change insurance: Poor reach, reliance on fossil fuel key issues

India's challenge is that the insurance coverage and penetration vary by lines of business and the low penetration problem is acute

Climate change and the risk associated with it is a major topic that is discussed at global forums. Yet, discussion on climate issues was conspicuously low-key at a meeting of global insurance mavens in New Delhi last week to decide their priorities for the year and possibly for the decade.

For the Institute of Actuaries of India, the experts who figure out what premium to charge for a risk, their list of priorities included the need for insurance and pension industries as well as actuaries to look holistically at products, regulation, and policy against the backdrop of changing consumer needs.