Insuring a better future

Fascinating new WARC article (subscription required) about the marketing challenges facing the insurance industry in the time of global warming.

People in parts of the US especially prone to climate-induced natural disasters (especially Florida and California, but other states, too) are those who need home insurance most, but ironically are the ones who have the fewest options.  Insurance companies are pulling out of these states or limiting coverage because of the high risk.

Suzanne Barker, Strategy Partner, AMV BBDO, argues in WARC that there are a few things insurance companies should be doing to be more proactive. 

One idea is to put more emphasis on prevention.  She points to Suncorp in Australia, an insurance company that created “One House to Save Many,” a prototype home specially designed to withstand bushfires, cyclones, and floods that is now shaping building codes across the country.

Among Barker’s other recommendations is that insurance companies collaborate to share information about prevention, rebuilding, and changing weather patterns.  As an exemplar, she spotlights Volvo, which shared with other manufacturers 40 years of internal research about how to keep women safe in car crashes.  Not only did this save lives, but it burnished Volvo’s long-standing reputation for safety.

Lots of good ideas in the article, which urges insurance companies to rethink their strategies and communication in fundamental ways.