As climate-related risks escalate and natural catastrophes become more frequent, the FIAR 2025 panel “Climate Risks and Natural Catastrophe Insurance: Maintaining Insurability and Accessibility” brought together experts from across Europe and Türkiye to address how insurers, regulators, and policymakers can jointly ensure long-term resilience and protection.

Carlos Guiné (EIOPA): Better Tools and Shared Mechanisms for Resilience
EIOPA’s Head of Sustainability stressed that public awareness is key to increasing catastrophe insurance uptake. He presented EIOPA’s open-access dashboard for natural risk exposure and outlined efforts to promote open-source models and climate risk management guidance. EIOPA is also working on a pan-European catastrophe pooling mechanism to strengthen protection across member states. He highlighted the market gap in risk modeling for smaller or underserved markets, suggesting that increased demand could help trigger development in this space.

Menekşe Uçaroğlu (IUC Group, Türkiye): Lessons from Earthquake Recovery
Türkiye’s recent mega-earthquakes showcased both the strengths and weaknesses of catastrophe insurance systems. While the insurance industry delivered rapid claims payouts, the broader societal vulnerability due to low insurance penetration among individuals and businesses became painfully evident. Uçaroğlu flagged the growing challenge of reinsurance capacity constraints, warning that, in certain regions or risk categories, coverage may become unavailable even at high prices. She also emphasized the importance of adequate modelling and shaping models according to the portfolio characteristics of each insurer.

Cosmin Tudor (PAID Romania): A Unique System Worth Protecting
Romania has a structurally distinct catastrophe insurance system, where basic (mandatory) coverage focuses specifically on cat risks - a rare approach globally. Tudor emphasized the inclusivity and affordability of this model, noting that it avoids risk selection and keeps premiums low for all homeowners. However, sustaining the current pricing model depends on significantly increasing coverage levels to at least 40–60%. He also urged businesses to view insurance as a safeguard not just for themselves, but for entire communities and supply chains.

Anca Ifrim (OMNIASIG VIG): Alarming Risk Trends and the Need for Joint Action
With climate change accelerating, flood risk in Europe is expected to rise by up to 75% by 2050. Romania ranks third in Europe in terms of the insurance gap. Ifrim warned that 20% of all weather-related insured losses over the past 50 years occurred just in the last two years—a sign of intensifying events. She stressed that managing cat risk effectively requires a coordinated, team-based approach across public and private actors.

Daniela Ghetu (XPRIMM Publications): The Visibility Gap Behind the Protection Gap
Many Central and Eastern European countries exhibit extremely low penetration rates for catastrophe insurance—sometimes as little as 10% of homes are covered. Even in countries with higher fire insurance uptake, it's often unclear how many policies actually include natural catastrophe clauses. Ghetu emphasized that the responsibility for bridging the protection gap must be shared by insurers, regulators, local authorities, and the political class. Only a strategic, multi-stakeholder approach can deliver a sustainable solution.

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The panelists agreed that maintaining affordable and accessible insurance for natural catastrophes requires far more than pricing reforms or market incentives. It demands systemic collaboration, smarter regulation, better data infrastructure, and a deep societal commitment to risk awareness. As climate threats mount, ensuring insurability isn’t just an industry concern - it’s a public priority.