Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 2025

3 Expand coverage within existing products Insurers can expand traditional coverage to cover illnesses exacerbated by climate change – for example, for infectious diseases spreading into new regions (such as dengue fever in temperate zones), respiratory illnesses caused by air pollution or wildfire smoke, or climate-linked mental health conditions. Insurers in Europe may start to consider dengue fever coverage as warming temperatures allow mosquito-borne diseases to spread into new regions.82 4 Strengthen climate-health advisory services Expanding advisory services can help reduce risk for current policyholders and attract new customers by raising awareness of climate-health risks. These services can be bundled with products or offered through targeted community outreach – for example, workshops or free consultations for high- risk groups. Investing in proactive customer education can also help lower risk exposure and claims. For example, insurers can share timely alerts during extreme events like heatwaves, with personalized safety tips. Cigna Healthcare offers a zip code-based tool that US residents can use to find low-cost local support.83 5 Strengthen risk insights through research Insurers can invest in research on climate-health risks to improve modelling of future claim risks and assess effective interventions. Leading insurers are increasingly collaborating with academia and global institutions to build and share expertise. Insurers can also build internal climate expertise as climate knowledge becomes vital for risk assessment, pricing and strategic decision-making. 6 Integrate multimodal data for smarter pricing Insurers can enhance pricing accuracy by integrating real-time environmental data on factors like heat and pollution with personal health data from wearables and mobile apps. While this shift from static to dynamic risk factors could help to improve modelling and encourage preventative behaviours, linking these inputs to actual claims outcomes will be crucial in unlocking its full potential. As data systems mature, analysing claims patterns alongside environmental and biometric data will be key to identifying climate-health risk drivers and improving underwriting. In fact, integrating wearables data can cut underwriting errors by up to 50% and allow insurers to detect early signs of health issues 30% faster than when using traditional methods.84 7 Invest in preventive care Insurers, especially health insurers, could support preventive care to reduce future claims. This proactive approach could include medical solutions such as vaccines, but also extends to actions like funding transport to cooling centres during heatwaves, distributing air purifiers or cooling gear, or partnering with companies that provide climate- health solutions. 8 Incentivize health-protective behaviours Insurers can adopt a “shared value” approach by offering premium discounts or rewards for preventive actions that reduce climate-health risks. Wellness incentive models, like those used by Vitality Insurance in the UK, have proven effective, with participating employers seeing 4% lower claims costs and a 180% ROI, driven by smart incentives that drive targeted behaviour change (e.g. more regular exercise, improved nutrition, quitting smoking).85 9 Fast-track claims management Insurers could streamline claims management and payout mechanisms to allow quick access to medical care or recovery funds after a climate- related disaster. Potential solutions include parametric triggers, rapid-response claims teams, cash advances and AI-based assessments for faster approvals. By speeding up payouts, insurers can help prevent health issues from escalating, delivering better outcomes for customers while boosting claims performance. In Delhi, India, winter air pollution often halts construction work, costing roughly 1.5 million daily-wage workers nearly two-thirds of their income.86,87 To protect the livelihoods of these workers, the Migrants Resilience Collaborative and a partner reinsurance broker created a parametric insurance scheme that pays up to INR 6,000 (Indian rupees), or about $70, whenever the Air Quality Index exceeds 400 for three out of five consecutive days.88 This provides financial relief to workers that’s delivered faster than government compensation. Such interventions can ensure workers maintain both their health and their income.Insurance as a tool to protect vulnerable populations BOX 13 Insurers can adopt a “shared value” approach by offering premium discounts or rewards for preventive actions that reduce climate- health risks. Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 39