The EU Climate Insurance Alliance: What It Is and What to Expect

The Climate Insurance Alliance is part of the EU Framework for Climate Resilience, which the European Commission presented on 27 October 2026. The framework is set out in a Communication, "A Resilient Europe for a Changing Climate" (COM(2026) 720), and its core element is a proposal for a European Climate Resilience Law (COM(2026) 730). The proposed law would give Member States a common reference trajectory for global warming to plan against (2°C by 2050), ask governments to identify who is responsible for managing climate risks in each policy area, and replace four existing planning instruments with a single national strategic plan on climate resilience. The package also launches new online tools such as the European Climate Viewer and announces a European Heatwave Plan and a European Water initiative, which will be presented separately. Insurance is covered in the Communication, in a section on narrowing the climate insurance protection gap.

According to the Commission, annual economic losses from climate extremes in the EU have averaged around EUR 50 billion over the past four years, up from EUR 8.6 billion in the 1980s. Historically, only around 25% of natural catastrophe losses in the EU have been insured. In agriculture, where average annual losses are estimated at around EUR 28.3 billion, only 20 to 30% are insured.

The Commission sees insurance as a way to reduce losses for households, businesses and public authorities after a disaster, and to ease pressure on public budgets, freeing resources for prevention.

What the Alliance is

The Climate Insurance Alliance will bring together insurers, reinsurers, insurance intermediaries, policyholders, risk modelling experts, investors, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and public authorities. The Communication presents it as a platform for cooperation between these parties; it does not set up a new legal body or fund.

How it will work

By the end of 2027 the Alliance is to deliver a first set of specific and actionable measures in three areas:

• Increasing insurance uptake. Raising risk awareness and making policies more transparent, for example by presenting natural catastrophe exclusions and deductibles in pre-contractual information in a simpler and more visual way. Facilitating quick payouts, for instance through parametric insurance, and promoting the availability, affordability and adequacy of insurance products.
• Incentivising risk prevention. Identifying and promoting insurance instruments that reward prevention, such as group insurance, build-back-better policies and impact underwriting. Assessing data availability and sharing to support better risk modelling.
• Ensuring adequate insurance capacity. Assessing the capacity available to cover natural catastrophe risks, including through reinsurance and catastrophe bonds.

The Alliance will also explore solutions to reduce the protection gap for natural catastrophes by fostering the role and uptake of private insurance, including possible public-private partnerships at national, regional or European level, in line with risk management and adaptation measures.

Two further actions involve EIOPA. The Commission will work with EIOPA and the insurance sector to further develop EIOPA's PROTECT tool, which gives property owners information on climate risks and preventive measures. EIOPA will also set up an Observatory for Catastrophe Risk Insurability to provide data and metrics on the drivers of the protection gap and to monitor how it evolves.

What to expect

According to the Commission's press release, the Alliance is still being developed and will be presented separately, so its membership and working arrangements are not yet known. The next milestones are its launch, the first package of measures by the end of 2027, and the work of EIOPA's new Observatory. The proposed Climate Resilience Law now goes to the European Parliament and the Council.

One question to follow is how the Alliance's work on public-private partnerships relates to earlier proposals. In December 2024 EIOPA and the European Central Bank proposed an EU-level public-private reinsurance scheme for natural catastrophes and an EU fund for public disaster financing. The Communication does not take a position on these proposals; it leaves the form and level of any partnership for the Alliance to explore.

Sources

• European Commission, A Resilient Europe for a Changing Climate: Communication on the EU Framework for Climate Resilience, COM(2026) 720, 27 October 2026 (section 3.4.2 on insurance)
• European Commission, Commission presents Climate Resilience Framework for a better prepared and protected Europe, press release, 27 October 2026
• EIOPA and ECB, Towards a European system for natural catastrophe risk management, 18 December 2024

Frequently asked questions

What is the EU Climate Insurance Alliance?

It is a forum that the European Commission will set up under its Framework for Climate Resilience, presented on 27 October 2026. It will bring together insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, policyholders, risk modellers, investors, EIOPA and public authorities to propose measures that narrow the natural catastrophe insurance protection gap.

When will the Alliance deliver results?

Its first set of specific and actionable measures is due by the end of 2027.

How much of natural catastrophe losses is insured in the EU?

According to the Commission, citing EIOPA and ECB data, historically only around 25% of natural catastrophe losses in the EU have been insured.

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