American Property Casualty Insurance Association Statement on United Nations Climate Report

WASHINGTON, March 2 (TNSRep) -- The American Property Casualty Insurance Association issued the following news release:

"As the U.S. grapples with the prospect of increased frequency and severity of major natural disasters such as wildfires, more action is needed. The recent UN Report, "Spreading Like Wildfire," makes many important points related to the growing wildfire risk globally and here in the U.S.

"APCIA supports many of the findings of the U.N.'s new report, which closely align with several issues insurers have long been advocating for. This includes, for example, expanding investments in planning, prevention, and recovery.

"Through the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, the U.S. insurance industry continues to be at the forefront of research to understand how to mitigate against risk to reduce future losses, whether from wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, or any other natural disaster. The industry, through the Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety (IBHS), has for over a decade studied wildfire risk and subsequent losses, resulting in a comprehensive set of roadmaps available to property owners to help reduce their risk. However, to make communities more resilient, policymakers need to focus on issues such as stronger and better enforced building codes, improved land use planning, resilient infrastructure, retrofitting existing infrastructure, and fuel load reduction in areas at risk for wildfires.

"In addition, the insurance industry supports the report's finding that governments and communities should increase the sharing of data, information, and analysis to improve forecasting and learning. Insurers continue to advocate for increased access to newer tools and technology to better model catastrophic risk that incorporates future impacts, such as climate change, along with updating public fire hazard maps, more climate hazard disclosures for individual properties, and the ability to set insurance pricing that signals where risk is elevated.

"The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has shown that for every $1 spent on natural hazard mitigation in new code construction, it can save $11 in disaster repair and recovery costs.

"Residents in high-risk areas also have a role to play by taking steps like removing combustible material within 5-feet of their homes, removing debris from roofs and gutters, sealing the garage door, and not stacking wood, debris or flammable material near their home, deck, or fence. Wildfire preparedness is a community effort, and we encourage residents to work with their neighbors and get them involved in preparedness because, ultimately, their risk is your risk. Residents also can make a difference by becoming more financially prepared for natural disasters such as wildfires. This begins by reviewing your insurance policy with your agent on a yearly basis to make sure you have the right amount and types of coverage.

"Finally, the report highlights the importance of shared data, information and analysis to improve forecasting and learning. The insurance industry continues to advocate for increased access to newer tools and technology to better model catastrophic risk that incorporates future impacts, such as climate change, along with updating public fire hazard maps, increasing climate hazard disclosures for individual properties, and allowing insurers to provide critical signals through risk-based pricing.

"As wildfires continue to grow in size and devastation in the U.S. and abroad, it has never been more important for consumers and policymakers to focus on preparedness and reduce the likelihood of having property damage.

"APCIA has also applauded the recent 10-year strategy announced by the Biden administration, confronting the wildfire crisis - "A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America's Forests." This strategy calls for the Forest Service to expand treatments on national forests and grasslands to reduce wildfire risk, in addition to investments in fire-adapted communities and work to address post-fire risks, recovery and reforestation.

The threat of climate change is very real, and as wildfires continue to grow in size in the U.S. and abroad, APCIA will continue to work with all stakeholders to help address the challenges these communities face.

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REPORT: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/38372/wildfire_RRA.pdf__;!!FU6Mc1g!BvPto8AsKlvyNBIPf9tTm18wXu7UfBjo9XBMg1BMgOlcfoiUfYkrUC_PoY6nksaK31kS$