Insurers are among a new coalition advocating policy changes to reduce economic losses from future storms and rising sea levels along U.S. coastlines.
The Resilient Coasts Initiative includes insurers, environmental groups and public officials. Their recommendations, enumerated in a blueprint, include fine-tuning climate risk models, requiring risk-based land use planning, strengthening building code standards to meet future risks, and maintaining a viable private property/casualty insurance market.
"Our coasts are threatened, there are reasonable steps to counter those threats, and we as a nation are not yet taking them," the Resilient Coasts Blueprint states. "Evidence shows we can reduce our risks and our costs by 50% or more."
To buttress this contention, the blueprint cites the example of 500 commercial clients insured by Johnston, R.I.-based
The $2.5 million investment in loss prevention resulted in $500 million in avoided losses, the coalition says. Likewise, the National Institute of Building Sciences shows that every dollar spent on mitigation saves society about four dollars on recovery costs. Accordingly the blueprint recommends that all U.S. coastal cities and towns implement adequate land use requirements and building codes.
"The Travelers Institute's support of the Resilient Coasts Initiative reflects its deep belief that loss mitigation, strong and well-enforced building codes, and sensible land use planning are critical to reducing risk to life and property as well as to making private insurance more plentiful in coastal areas," Joan Woodward,
In addition to the Travelers Institute, the blueprint is endorsed by the