Introduction 

The AIDA Climate Change Working Party was formed in 2011 following the success of the "Climate Change and Insurance Law" theme session conducted in Paris in May 2010 during the XIII AIDA World Congress, which resulted in the publication of a General Report prepared by Prof Marcel Fontaine. 

Since that time meetings have been held at least twice yearly with an ever-growing number of active participants from over thirty countries actively involved in the Working Party’s activities.

In November 2016 the Working Party changed its name to the AIDA Climate and Catastrophic Events Working Party (the “CCEWP”) better to reflect what has been within the WP’s scope since the outset: the legal and insurance challenges presented to the management of all forms of climatic and catastrophic event risk in an era when the impact of Climate Change is both manifesting itself and threatening to undermine or exacerbate the problems associated with the long-term provision for all risk areas.

 

For past events, meetings and activities involving this Working Party – not yet loaded on this new website – go to AIDA's old website by clicking here

MAIN CONTACT

Officers & Committee

Mr Tim Hardy

Chair

Prof. Marco Frigessi di Rattalma

Vice Chair

Mr Stijn Franken

Secretary

em. Prof. Marcel Fontaine

Adviser

Dr Hilda Esperanza Zornosa Prieto

Member, Organising Committee

Dr Maria Kavanagh

Member, Organising Committee

Mr Christopher Rodd

Member, Organising Committee

Since its formation XXX people from over XXX countries have participated in CCEWP meetings and activities… 

Drawn from… legal practitioners, academics, regulators, in-house counsel and other insurance market professionals … etc etc

Formation and Development

The Working Party was first created under the name of the Climate Change Working Party in November 2010.

This followed the interest generated by the responses given by National Sections to the "Climate Change and Insurance Law" Questionnaire devised by Prof. Marcel Fontaine as one of the main themes at the XIII AIDA World Congress held in Paris in May 2010 and by the presentations delivered there.

In late 2016 it was decided that the title of the Working Party should be extended to its present name. The concentration upon the impact of Climate Change remains as marked as ever. The Working Party considers all types of climatic change and responses to catastrophic events regardless of cause to help inform how the insurance markets and law must evolve to serve all mitigation, adaptation and risk management and transfer concerns.

Purpose

The emphasis and greatest value of the WP's work continues to be directed upon the insurance (including reinsurance and other risk transfer methods) and the legal implications of the phenomenon of Climate Change, climatic changes and catastrophic events of all kinds across jurisdictions.

Literature on Climate Change and catastrophic events is more than abundant. Much is written on the various impacts of Climate Change on the insurance sector, but much less on the legal aspects.

Our purpose remains to try and go beyond a mere description of initiatives taken by the insurance sector, to concentrate, where possible, on their legal expression in clauses, general conditions or new types of policies, and on the new legal issues that arise, or probably will in the foreseeable future, and how these evolve over time along with other catastrophic event responses.

Projected areas of study/session topics/reports

These continue to be selected over time according to their perceived significance or suitability for comparative study. Given the vast scope of the Climate Change phenomenon and its potential legal implications different work streams or sub-groups can always be formed to concentrate energies and to accelerate progress.  Some areas of importance which have already been identified include:

  • Analysis of reports on Climate Change (and insurance implications) generated by governments, industry, associations, research groups etc.
  • Identification/consideration of significance of legislation and other regulatory measures /protocols/ initiatives (at national, regional and international level) implemented to combat effects of Climate Change.
  • Evolution of Climate Change litigation in the US and elsewhere.
  • Impact of Climate Change upon traditional lines of insurance and reinsurance (and legal issues arising).
  • Creation/development of new lines/types of (re)insurance and other products (and legal issues arising) and classification of certain existing products (such as weather derivatives) in the insurance/financial markets.
  • Special interest topics:
    i) Carbon Capture & Sequestration/Storage;
    ii) Use of cat bonds/ART for weather/carbon market risks etc; and
    iii) Large-scale natural hazard/pollution liability issues.
  • g. Significance of climatic changes of all kinds and responses to catastrophic events of all kinds.

Via the Library/Resources area of the website any visitor may search for and locate all of the following;

XIII AIDA World Congress 2010 – Paris: Climate Change & Insurance Law (prior to formation of CCEWP):

  • Questionnaire
  • National/other reports in response
  • Congress session presentations
  • Follow-up reports
  • General Report prepared by Prof. Marcel Fontaine

CCEWP Meetings: (2011 to date, including meetings conducted jointly with other WPs and/or others as part of plenary proceedings)

  • Agendas
  • Minutes
  • Presentations
  • Papers and Reports
  • Questionnaires and Responses associated with individual CCEWP Meetings
  • Photos/other materials

Other meeting materials:

Selected presentations, papers and other materials are loaded where of particular pertinence to the CCEWP (involving active members and/or issues the subject of CCEWP meetings/activities/work projects).

These include:

  • Presentations delivered by Tim Hardy to three branches of the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA) in January/February 2011 to mark the publication of the General Report and the formation of the AIDA Climate Change Working Party. The principal conclusions drawn by the General Report are identified and certain issues discussed and elaborated upon. A similar presentation was also delivered in Singapore on 18 January 2011 at the 1st Climate Change Summit for Asia's Insurance Industry staged jointly by Asia Insurance Review and the Geneva Association.
  • Presentations of Tim Hardy and Chris Rodd to the NZILA 2016 Annual Conference in Queenstown as Keynote Session Speakers on the topic of “Climate Change: the insurance industry’s current and future roles”, following Dr Jan Wright, the NZ Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

Other materials:

  • Publications/published articles - Links to/descriptions of publications/published articles by members of the CCEWP and/or others to which express reference has been made in the course of various CCEWP meetings and/or activities.
  • Databases – Maintained by various reputable bodies of direct relevance/benefit to those interested in the work/activities of the CCEWP (see also “Links”).
  • Case Reports/Articles – Identified/volunteered by CCEWP members of particular interest.

Sponsors

[Provision for details of sponsors – possibly already featured in slideshows for individual meetings but scope for acknowledging/encouraging sponsorship of various CCEWP activities/projects/publications/research initiatives etc]

[Text, plus sponsor names/logos/brief descriptions etc]

External Supporters/Collaborators

[List those/any associations/bodies/individuals/publishers etc which have supported/collaborated or associated with the CCEWP in some way meriting recognition/acknowledgment (for permission to use/reproduce materials etc)]