Speakers
Objectives
Insurance protection gaps in both climate and cyber risk remain a major concern for policymakers, supervisors, and the industry. Despite record economic losses from natural catastrophes, only about a quarter of climate-related damages in the EU are insured, with coverage below 5% in several member states. On the supply side, capital constraints in reinsurance and ILS markets raise concerns about long-term capacity. In cyber, market penetration is still very low—particularly among SMEs—while exclusions, narrow coverages, and uncertainty over systemic or war-related events limit confidence. At the same time, new EU rules such as Solvency II reforms, DORA, and the Cyber Solidarity Act aim to strengthen modelling, resilience, and public-private trust.This session will take stock of recent developments and explore concrete levers to close climate and cyber protection gaps, including public-private partnerships, capital market solutions, and potential EU-level coordination.
Points of discussion
- What structural obstacles (data scarcity, systemic accumulation, exclusions) limit the development of sustainable cyber insurance markets, and how can EU initiatives such as DORA and the Cyber Solidarity Act support market growth and resilience?
- What are the main barriers to expanding insurance coverage for climate-related risks across the EU, and to what extent could public-private partnerships or EU-level coordination help reduce underinsurance while maintaining market discipline?
- When certain risks become uninsurable, what policy options are available at EU level (e.g. catastrophe pools, cyber backstops, ILS), and what balance should be struck between subsidiarity, proportionality, and effective risk-sharing?