Five questions about climate adaptation

Floods, heat waves and other consequences of extreme weather mean that people and companies have to adapt quickly to the changing climate. This, to avoid (unnecessary) damage and nuisance. Vylon Ooms is climate change policy advisor at the Dutch Association of Insurers and is currently doing his PhD at VU Amsterdam, where he is researching climate adaptation. Based on five questions, he will discuss what insurers can do to encourage individuals and companies to take climate-adaptive prevention measures.

1. First of all. What exactly is the impact of climate change on the economy and society?

"We present the impact of climate change on the economy and society in our climate damage monitor. We look at damage figures and what trends we see in them. The figures include major damage, such as the hailstorm from June 2016 and the flooding in Limburg in the summer of 2021. The amounts involved in the claims indicate well what the impact has been and we can measure this with the claims figures of insurers. We ourselves have data from 2007, and European reports that already contain figures from the eighties also show a similar picture."

2. How can insurers turn awareness about climate risks into action through preventive measures?

"Visibility is essential. With the climate damage monitor we show what the impact is and amounts also help with this. Research by, among others, VU Amsterdam, HKV and Deltares also shows that preventive measures in the event of a flood can ensure that there is 20 to 50 percent less damage. In the case of water damage, you can think of quick measures such as placing a laptop higher, but also structural measures such as opting for ceramic instead of wooden floors, placing electrical installations higher and working with thresholds in the house. To increase awareness among individuals and companies, it is also important to work with so-called early warnings. You not only indicate that a flood is (possibly) coming, but you immediately tell what people can do about it. You immediately offer them action perspective. To improve this, we work together with their Early Warning Center within our partnership with the KNMI.
In the event of flooding, for example, there are roughly two ways to prevent structural damage. First of all, there is the so-called dryflood-proofing. You do everything you can to stop the water. This can be done by deploying thresholds, sandbags and water bulkheads. In addition, there is wetflood-proofing. The water can flow into the house, but then you ensure that it has less impact. Think of the ceramic floor instead of a warping wooden floor. Placing electronics higher also fits in with this. Research also shows that companies are less idle if structural measures are taken. In short, there are plenty of tools to respond to the increase in extreme weather due to climate change."

"There are plenty of tools to respond to the increase in extreme weather due to climate change"

3. Climate change also requires adaptations in housing construction. How can construction and investments be better coordinated so that damage is reduced and distributed fairly?

"I mainly look at the behaviour of households and companies in how to build (climate adaptation) in my research. First of all, it is important to build as little as possible in very low-lying areas and not to build in floodplains of rivers. I find building in floodplains strange anyway, because it is not insurable. For example, people who buy a home in this area cannot get a mortgage because insurers do not provide home insurance. Homes in low-lying areas can currently be insured, but you may wonder whether that is future-proof. Especially if there are peak showers, which means that there is a lot of rain in a short time, the chance of flooding is high. Even areas outside the dike are usually not insurable when it comes to flooding. We are increasingly getting that message out there. Until now, insurers have not been concerned with where to build, but choices are now being made that are not future-proof, so it is important to make ourselves heard.
Furthermore, in my research I think about how to build. Our message is: If you are building in low-lying areas, take possible climate damage into account during construction. Think of structural measures such as a tile-free garden (a lawn absorbs much more water) and a ceramic floor instead of laminate. The Dutch Green Building Council also makes a methodology for this, whereby homes can achieve so-called climate scores at area and building level. You can also think of climate labels per building. This works the same as energy labels and home buyers can see at a glance how climate-proof a home is. It would be nice if climate labels were a fact within a few years, because it is an important risk to display."

"Until now, insurers were not concerned with where to build, but choices are now being made that are not future-proof, so it is important to make ourselves heard"

4. How do you, as a government and as an insurer, increase public awareness about climate risks? In other words, how do you encourage people and companies to take action?

"Public awareness about climate awareness is now really a government thing. But insurers also have an interest in this. That's why I'm researching what works best to activate people. Is this a discount, a larger deductible or setting requirements ('You must have taken these measures to be insured'). What I see is that the effects of discounts are disappointing. For example, you can offer lower premiums for home and contents insurance, where insured persons receive a 10 or 15 percent discount. In practice, however, this means that they pay EUR 10 to 30 less in premiums, and I do not expect people to be prepared to take additional measures for such amounts. In my research, I will further investigate why people who do take climate measures do so. Is this from an intrinsic motivation, or because the government or their insurer triggers them? These are things I'd like to come back to the reader later."

5. Finally. One of the concrete themes in your PhD research is 'knowing the factors that influence the damage-reducing behaviour of Dutch companies after the floods in Limburg'. Can you give us a hint? What factors play a role in this?

"What you see is that information provision and timely warning have been very important in influencing Dutch companies for damage-reducing behaviour. This mainly concerns emergency measures: 'A flood is coming and you can do this to limit the damage'. Now you see that insurers are more actively coming up with prevention tips, which is a good thing. With very simple measures you can often prevent a lot of misery."