Floods, repeated storms, violent snow episodes… The effects of global warming are being felt in France. And it is increasingly worrying insurance companies. Since January 1, many French municipalities have seen their insurers withdraw, citing the growing risks they face.
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Dinan, in Brittany, its 13th century ramparts, its river… On December 31, the insurer of this small town in the west of France with 15,000 inhabitants terminated its contract. The result is that the city is no longer insured against property damage.
No one wanted to take over the market. For the moment, half of the city’s property is insured by a Japanese company, but only for the month of January. Dinan must therefore now resort to self-insurance. A situation which is not financially viable, according to the city’s mayor, Didier Lechien. “ I take as an example the house fire that took place in 2019, when we were still insured. The loss amounts to more than 5 million euros “, he explains. “ For a town of 15,000 inhabitants, which is not immensely rich, if you have to face such an expense, you throw your budget to the ground », Fears the mayor.
Around 2,000 municipalities affected
And he is not the only one in this case. In total, around 2,000 French municipalities have no longer been insured since January 1, to the point that public authorities are worried. A mission on the insurability of municipalities has been launched by the State. Alain Chrétien, the mayor of Vesoul, co-chairs it. According to him, insurers are withdrawing because “ they anticipate a continued increase in climate risks and societal problems “.
Read alsoWhat cost for France’s adaptation to climate change?
This is also explained by SMACL, one of the main community insurers in France, which mentions “ major increase in risks » to justify the adaptation of “ its prices and contractual conditions “.
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Towards a new insurance system?
The insurer is also calling for a new three-tier system to continue to insure communities. For small losses, municipalities would resort to self-insurance. For normal damage, insurers would play their role. But for exceptional disasters, climatic events for example, the State would come to the rescue.
The mission on the insurability of municipalities must report its conclusions soon. But this problem is not only French. It is the global insurance market that is trying to adapt to the effects of global warming. In the United States, for example, Joe Biden announced reforms to disaster aid last Friday, particularly due to the increase in climate-related events.
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