The “Insurance and Sustainability” workshop, held on April 3rd, 2025, was co-hosted by Insurance Ireland and the Kemmy Business School, of the University of Limerick. It brought together representatives from the insurance industry, insurance representative bodies, as well as academics and postgraduate students specialising in risk management, insurance, accounting, and finance. BIOFIN-EU was represented by our coordinator, Prof. John Garvey (University of Limerick).
Prof. John Garvey spoke about the project and outlined specific cases relating to governance and insurance that are currently acting as a barrier to the investment (both private and public) in blue and green infrastructure. Prof. Garvey outlined the case of flood risk mitigation and the capacity of landowners to support the slowing of rivers that exist upstream for urban areas. While optimal solutions combine grey (improving urban drainage) and green (slowing farm drains and rivers), there is currently no easy way for local authorities and municipalities to allocate funding to landowners to implement nature-based solutions of this type. The expansion of results-based payments schemes or the introduction of conservation easements in the European setting could effectively incentivize farmers to produce these ecosystem services.
Industry representatives spoke about the range of activities that are underway within insurance organisations, including more sophisticated risk modelling techniques that can accommodate the implementation of NbS as well as insurance product design that adopts the Build Back Better (BBB) framework. This framework, has influenced how insurance companies design and promote Climate-Resilient Insurance Products that provide homeowners with additional funds (beyond claim amount) to implement renewable energy solutions when restoring their homes. Industry representatives also outlined plans to deny coverage for fossil fuel projects while offering better terms for renewable energy projects.
Outcomes from the workshop included a commitment between BIOFIN-EU and Insurance representative body to explore the potential for green loan securitization, which has the potential to unlock mainstream finance for NbS or nature-positive activities.
