15 November 2012

CRE: Environmental risk climbs agenda but mitigation remains muted, finds survey

Environmental issues are the number one emerging risk for mid-sized companies across Europe and a growing concern for all firms, according to research by ACE. But its survey suggests that companies are not on top of the threat and that mitigation efforts remain underwhelming.

According to ACE’s survey of 606 risk and insurance-buying professionals at companies within Europe, environmental issues were ranked as the top emerging concern for European mid-sized companies by 35 per cent of respondents. The study also found that environmental risk is named as the top emerging concern for companies in the UK, cited by 38 per cent of respondents, and France (33 per cent).

Only 52 per cent of European companies have crisis management procedures in place to deal with an environmental incident. Furthermore, 25 per cent of companies surveyed believe they do not need crisis management procedures for these risks at all. In addition, around a third of companies either do not have specific insurance in place to cover environmental risks, are unsure whether or not they have cover or think that the risks are covered by another insurance policy.

On the issue of environmental risk mitigation, Dorothee Prunier, Environmental Manager for Continental Europe, ACE European Group, said: “An important first step is to conduct an environmental risk audit, to understand where exposures lie and pinpoint where action is needed to cover the gaps. One of these may be in the area of insurance, where claims can fall outside the scope of a standard property or liability policy." “With a third of European companies lacking or unsure about environmental insurance cover, our research suggests that the insurance market needs to do more to raise awareness of the risks and the solutions available”, she added.

ACE’s research was carried out in April and May of this year with European risk managers, chief risk officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and those individuals responsible for buying insurance at companies with a turnover of over £500 million.

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