Insurance Faces Data Challenges in Climate Risk Planning

The insurance industry is grappling with fragmented and incomplete data, hampering its ability to effectively plan for and mitigate climate-related risks. Christopher McDaniel, president of the Catastrophe Resiliency Council, highlighted these challenges during the Global Insurance Forum in Miami. He emphasized that disparate global initiatives and siloed datasets hinder comprehensive risk assessments for events like hurricanes and their economic impacts.

McDaniel called for better integration of public and private sector data, citing agencies like FEMA and NOAA as critical partners. However, he noted that public sector data often lacks coordination with private sector efforts, leading to gaps in understanding and planning. To address this, he proposed centralized data systems and enhanced collaboration across initiatives to streamline efforts and reduce redundancy.

By unifying data sources and improving access, the industry can make more accurate climate risk projections and develop robust resilience strategies. McDaniel stressed that tackling these issues requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders to overcome the scale of the challenge.