"Heavy Weather for Insurers" Cape Times 24 April

Climate changes poses a significant threat to the insurance industry, with the projected increase in number and intensity of extreme weather event expected to take its toll as clients claim for climate related losses. The costs to insurers from climate related losses really are quite astounding, with natural disasters causing the global industry approximately $105 billion in 2011. A research project, which uses the Garden Route as a lens through which to examine the effects of climate variability and risk on the insurance industry, was recently profiled in the Cape Argus, making for a very interesting read. Clifford Shearing, an ACDI affiliated researcher and one of the project directors, is based at the Centre for Criminology at UCT. This particular article was written by Tom Herbstein, who is a PhD student and senior research co-ordinator, also working at the Centre for Criminology. The article explains how this multidisciplinary research project is assisting insurance provider Santam, to both examine the changing risk profile of the Garden Route, as well as  assess options for how they specifically, and industry may respond in order to mitigate this risk, and increase resilience of both their company and the local communities affected by climate change. 

Download the PDF version of the article here