California, New York and Washington mandate climate change information from insurers

The California Department of Insurance (CDI) has joined with Washington State and New York to require insurers to respond to the Climate Risk Survey adopted in 2009 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
California, Washington and New York will require all companies that write in excess of $300 million in direct written premium to respond to the climate change survey.
“The survey data will provide regulators with substantive information about the risks to insurers posed by climate change,” said California insurance commissioner Dave Jones. “The survey will also explore the actions insurers are taking in response to their understanding of climate change risks.”
Climate change and its related – and often unpredictable – weather patterns, affect the long-term cost of insurance to the public and the capital that insurers must maintain to meet those challenges, said David Zona, senior vice president and chief underwriting officer of the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. “Insurers and regulators must meet these challenges head on.”
Robert H. Easton, New York’s executive deputy superintendent for insurance, noted the essence of insurance is the analysis of risk. “We are asking insurers to share their views of the risk of climate change so that we can be sure that the industry and regulators are appropriately prepared,” he said.
Washington State insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler said insurance regulators have already seen the same severe climate trends of recent years continue into 2012.
“Our job as regulators is to confirm that companies are adequately addressing the impact of climate change on their risk profiles and ensure that the public has access to insurance to cover these severe weather events,” he said. “The data from this survey will give us a real time benchmark for how insurers are preparing for the impacts of climate change.”