Lloyd's of London - Global Warmings Risks, Including Forest Fires

Lloyd's of London has issued a report on the effects of warming on the insurance underwriting business. A few items of note, related to fire risks in urban/forest interface are provided below. For a full report, go to: Lloyd's 360 Risk Project

With increasing development taking place at the forest/urban fringe, greater economic loss will result from forest
fires in the future.

Higher land and air temperatures raise a number of concerns for insurers. Property insurers will want to monitor aggregations of risk in the expanded areas likely to be affected by forest fires, and prepare for the likelihood of increased subsidence events as a result of hotter drier summers in some areas.

It is generally agreed that the 1990s was the warmest decade, and 2005 the warmest year, in a millennium. The projected rate of increase in global temperatures for the 21st century is likely to be the fastest of any century in the past 10,000 years. Recent evidence suggests that the impact will be worse than carbon sinks are not performing as well as they have in the past.

Forest fires are expected to increase in frequency and severity under most predicted scenarios. In some areas, it is estimated that fire frequency and areas affected could double by 2069.