Stephen Byers tells insurance industry that it needs to be ready for the new challenges and new opportunities afforded by climate change...
Stephen Byers, former Cabinet Minister and now Co-Chair of the International Climate Change Taskforce, told delegates at the Insurance Times Climate Change 2007 conference that “the insurance industry is in the front line of the climate change debate” and that they should be ready to deal with “new challenges, new threats and new opportunities.”
Speaking during the keynote address at the London-based event, Byers outlined various ways in which the insurance industry should utilise the current worldwide focus on climate change and “seek out new commercial opportunities that would be good for the sector and the bottom line.”
His suggestions included lower premiums for energy efficient homes, new products for the global carbon market, the adoption of investment policies that prioritise a reduction in climate change and new products for carbon neutral companies.
“People are always looking for someone to blame when things go wrong,” Byers said, “and in the past insurance companies have sometimes walked away from the problem. The insurance industry now needs to address changing customer needs.”
