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Insurance Industry Looking Hard At Climate Change

Posted by Soulskill on from the letting-the-market-decide dept.

A recent paper in Science (abstract) examines the insurance industry's reaction to climate change. The industry rakes in trillions of dollars in revenues every year, and a shifting climate would have the potential to drastically cut into the profits left over after settlements have been paid. Hurricane Sandy alone did about $80 billion worth of damage to New York and New Jersey. With incredible amounts of money at stake, the industry is taking climate projections quite seriously. From the article: "Many insurers are using climate science to better quantify and diversify their exposure, more accurately price and communicate risk, and target adaptation and loss-prevention efforts. They also analyze their extensive databases of historical weather- and climate-related losses, for both large- and small-scale events. But insurance modeling is a distinct discipline. Unlike climate models, insurers’ models extrapolate historical data rather than simulate the climate system, and they require outputs at finer scales and shorter time frames than climate models."

11 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Who knew... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Insightful

    God forbid someone actually get some actual benefit from their insurance...

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Who knew... by rtb61 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of course in a most twisted way they could prove useful. Those pollution producing corporations are becoming a bit too much of a profit burden, which would be cheaper, eliminating them or paying out of the damage they are generating. When targeting the cause is order of magnitude cheaper than paying for the damage. Strange things can happen out there in corporate wars lobbyists land. Politically you can already see distinct corporate alignments forming, copyright versus technology, financial versus energy (only certain forms) and, development versus military. How violent will the corporate wars become?

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    2. Re:Who knew... by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Would you rather your insurance company just hand out cash willy nilly?

      Mo, of course not. But guess what? Insurance companies hire these people call - get this - Insurance Adjusters, who are - get this - "professionals" at evaluating claims.

      But you know what? Most of them only look for reasons *NOT* to pay out on legitimate claims.

      Oh wait 'your' emergency is somehow obvious and more important than everybody elses?

      What an angry ignorant statement.

      My claim is no more or less important than any other legitimate claim. Perhaps you need to look into how insurance companies deny legitimate claims?

      Or perhaps you are one of these assholes that insurance companies hire to bullshit people out of making legitimate claims?

      We're not talking about "entitlements" here, we're talking about paying for a service and not getting it.

      But please, fuck off.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  2. Death throes of climate alarmism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We've had a bunch of climate related stories on /. lately. My theory is that when IPCC AR5 comes out officially, the jig will be up. The alarmists are having to make hay while they still can.

    For the blessed few who haven't been following the climate wars, IPCC AR5 is the United Nations latest report on global warming. It has several important findings including that shown in Figure 1.4 . The global climate has warmed less than all the IPCC's previous projections. They also conclude that the global temperature will warm about an additional degree in the 21st century. Dry places will get slightly drier. Wet places will get slightly wetter. Extreme weather events will not be more extreme or more frequent. Catastrophic anthropogenic global warming has been cancelled.
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/12/14/the-real-ipcc-ar5-draft-bombshell-plus-a-poll/

    1. Re:Death throes of climate alarmism by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Nonense. The comparisons that have been done with the original IPCC report vs current data are showing their predictions were suprisingly accurate.

      http://www.livescience.com/25367-first-ipcc-climate-report-accurate.html

    2. Re:Death throes of climate alarmism by the+gnat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      it's those who scream the loudest about global warming that want us to wait twenty years until we can switch to renewable power sources.

      Straw man. Ask most actual scientists who know anything about the topic, and we'll tell you we should be building nuclear power plants as fast as possible. (And yes, I would happily live near one, although since I live practically on top of a fault line it would be a pretty stupid place to build it.)

    3. Re:Death throes of climate alarmism by taz346 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We see more stories about global warming on Slashdot lately because more of the predicted effects are becoming reality. That trend will continue because we will continue to do nothing to address it, opting to put our own short-term interests ahead of the costs to future generations. Nothing new there. Just ask Yeats: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity."

  3. Externalities come home to roost by presidenteloco · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Global warming has already been forecast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern_Review to cost much more than slowing it down/preventing it would cost.

    I guess those externalities in economic models (and fossil-fuel price and fossil-fuel-based product prices) weren't so external after all.

    Who would have guessed that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment?

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  4. Feynman coming home to roost by harvey+the+nerd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The CAGW graphs from models have repeatedly failed to predict current temperature trends, and others, like global methane in the atomosphere. Data has been repeatedly unused, misused and misreported in CAGW pal reviewed "literature". CAGW is a scam and pseudoscience. Go listen to Feynman about missed predictions. Get over it.

    1. Re:Feynman coming home to roost by SerpentMage · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Dude here is what you don't get. The insurance industry does not give a rats ass on the foaming mouths of those who are for or against climate change. The only thing that the insurance industry cares about is making money. Let's say that California is in an earthquake zone, which it is, the insurance company says, "hey guess what you are going to pay more for earth quake insurance." When the big one hits they really don't care because they should have covered their butts.

      This is why if some hurricane were to flatten New York the only question that the insurance industry will ask is, "how much money will we make or NOT?" Thus by seeing that climate change is starting to hurt their pocket books you can be sure as American Greenbacks being green that they will begin to pay attention and charge you more for insurance.

      --

      "You can't make a race horse of a pig"
      "No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
  5. Hurricane Sandy.... by Ferretman · · Score: 5, Informative

    ....had nothing to do with "climate change" or "global warming" or whatever the AGW supporters are calling it this week. Even the climatologists said as much:

    http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/07/csu-researchers-say-sandy-wasnt-influenced-by-global-warming/

    Ferret

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    Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc