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Zurich warns resilience plans lag climate-risk awareness in underwriting
Zurich points to a funding gap, citing Swiss Re data showing 57% of 2024 natural-disaster losses were uninsured.
Businesses increasingly can map their physical climate exposures, but Zurich says many still lack resilience plans they can share with insurers, a mismatch that can leave companies exposed when coverage becomes unaffordable or unavailable.
In an interview, Yvonne Moore, UK head of Zurich Resilience Solutions, said the problem is often structural rather than a lack of awareness. She argued that resilience investments typically pay off over longer time horizons than the annual budgeting and insurance cycles many firms use for commercial decisions.
Moore added that the business case for adaptation can be hard to prove, since return on investment may be realized over several years and future costs can be difficult to quantify. She noted that delaying action can raise the risk of stranded assets, and that the cost of inaction can become the strongest argument.
Zurich also highlighted the scale of the downside: Swiss Re reported global economic losses from natural disasters totaled US$318 billion in 2024, with 57% uninsured. Moore said uninsured exposure can effectively sit on a firm’s own balance sheet for businesses weighing resilience spending against renewal timing.