Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being considered as an option to reduce societies’ vulnerability to natural hazards, creating co-benefits while protecting ecosystem services in a context of changing climate patterns with more frequent and extreme weather events. The reinsurance and insurance industries are increasingly cited as sectors that can play a role to help manage risks, by improving disaster risk reduction (DRR) and loss prevention. This paper investigates how the (re)insurance industry could support the transition from a paradigm focused on ex-post responses to ex-ante risk reduction measures including NBS, in line with the Sendai Framework. This paper presents the results of a series of 61 interviews undertaken with the (re)insurance sector and related actors under the EU H2020 Nature Insurance Value Assessment and Demonstration (NAIAD) project. Methods based on a Grounded Theory approach indicate how this sector can play different roles in loss prevention, including ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (eco-DRR). Results illustrate how the (re)insurance industry, under these roles, is gradually innovating by having a better understanding of hazards and mitigation. The findings of the study contribute to wider discussions such as the possibility of new arrangements like natural insurance schemes and evidence-based assessment of avoided damage costs from green protective measures, in Europe and beyond.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being promoted because they can solve different pursued aims together with providing an additional array of multiple ecosystem services or co-benefits. Nevertheless, their implementation is still being curbed by several barriers, for example, a lack of examples, a lack of finance, and a lack of business cases. Therefore, there is an urgent need to facilitate the construction of business models and business cases that identify the elements required to capture value. These are necessary to catalyze investments for the implementation of NBS. This article presents a tool called a Natural Assurance Schemes (NAS) canvas and explains how it can be applied to identify business models for NBS strategies providing climate adaptation services, showing an eye-shot summary of critical information to attract funding. The framework is applied in three case studies covering different contexts, scales, and climate-related risks (floods and droughts). Finally, a reflective analysis is done, comparing the tool with other similar approaches while highlighting the differential characteristics that define the usefulness, replicability, and flexibility of the tool for the target users, namely policymakers, developers, scientists, or entrepreneurs aiming to promote and implement NAS and NBS projects.

Wildfires generating damage to assets are extremely rare in France. The peril is not covered by the French natural catastrophes insurance scheme (law of 13 July 1982). In the context of the changing climate, Caisse Centrale de Réassurance—the French state-owned reinsurance company involved in the Nat Cat insurance scheme—decided to develop its knowledge on the national exposure of France to wildfire risks. Current and future forest fires events have to be anticipated in case one of the events threatens buildings. The present work introduces the development of a catastrophe loss risk model (Cat model) for forest fires for the French metropolitan area. Cat models are the tools used by the (re)insurance sector to assess their portfolios’ exposure to natural disasters. The open-source national Promethée database focusing on the South of France for the period 1973–2019 was used as training data for the development of the hazard unit using machine learning-based methods. As a result, we observed an extension of the exposure to wildfire in northern areas, namely Landes, Pays-de-la-Loire, and Bretagne, under the RCP 4.5 scenario. The work highlighted the need to understand the multi-peril exposure of the French country and the related economic damage. This is the first study of this kind performed by a reinsurance company in collaboration with a scholarly institute, in this case EURIA Brest.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters and can threaten the functions of ecosystems. Affected, damaged or destroyed ecosystems in turn also make our societies more vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change (i.e. their assurance value). In addition, expanding communities and concentrations of wealth in high-risk areas are increasing risk exposure dramatically. This chapter outlines the growing interest in the protective role nature-based solutions (NBS) can play in buffering against risks posed by natural hazards. It presents mechanisms and potential roles of the insurance industry to facilitate loss prevention through NBS. The use of catastrophe models to quantify the assurance value of nature (in line with Chaps. 1 and 2), the benefits of nature in reducing natural hazards-related damages have been highlighted. Catastrophe models developed and run by insurance companies are well-suited to support the quantification of the avoided damage provided by NBS. This can be performed in complement to research institutions assessments of co-benefits NBS provide (as outlined in the case studies’ chapters). The findings developed in this chapter make a strong case for pro-active engagement of the insurance industry in assessing nature-based risk reduction measures and public/private plans for implementation and monitoring. Graphical Abstract