Insurance loss data for improved climate change adaptation. Conditions for data sharing and utilization

Abstract

Climate change has led to an increased risk of damage to buildings and infrastructure. Norwegian municipalities have intensified their efforts to address climate change adaptation and the prevention of climate-related damage due to natural hazards. The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) has developed a so-called ‘Knowledge Bank’, which is a Norwegian web-based data platform containing information about risk and vulnerability related to natural events. The Knowledge Bank serves to compile civil protection data and makes these available to municipalities, providing them with an improved overview and knowledge about undesirable events and natural disasters as a basis for cost-benefit analysis, risk, and vulnerability assessments. The platform also includes data related to natural and weather-related damage derived from insurance companies. Previous research related to insurance data and the Knowledge Bank carried out at the Klima 2050 Centre has addressed attitudes to data sharing among insurance companies, the value of insurance data, and the potential to use these data to predict events. It has also addressed the municipalities' initial perceptions and experiences. Expectations linked to a new system for sharing insurance loss data in the Knowledge Bank are high, but several issues still need to be resolved before the system can be fully exploited. There is need to improve the understanding of key factors related primarily to data sharing and quality, as well as the relevant regulatory frameworks. This will enable insurance data to become available via the Knowledge Bank so that they can be utilized by municipalities in a way that will benefit wider society. This report presents the results of a study that addresses the critical factors required for the establishment of a new system allowing insurance companies to share insurance loss data with municipalities, using the Knowledge Bank platform.