Supporting Brokers & Customers to Adapt to Climate Change
From free Climate School modules to data-driven risk insights, AXA share how they are helping brokers and their clients adapt to the growing impact of extreme weather and climate change.
At AXA UK, our broker relationships are true partnerships, and we aim to build on them through the services we offer and the support we provide. The global nature of our business means we’re able to share knowledge and expertise and offer insight into key issues that impact our industry and the world around us.
Climate change is one of the most important worldwide challenges that we face. It has been the number one concern for both the public and experts for three consecutive years in the annual AXA Future Risks Report and is an issue that AXA takes seriously.
In 2019 AXA Climate was founded to help individuals and businesses adapt to the challenges of climate change. Over the past six years, we have learned the importance of embracing a systemic view of risk and understanding how risks are interconnected.
Education is crucial to help people understand the issues surrounding climate change and appreciate how their own seemingly small contributions can have a significant impact. For this reason, the AXA Climate School was created.
This online learning programme has been rolled out to thousands of AXA employees worldwide and offers eight modules that delve into issues such as the over-exploitation of natural resources and the low-carbon transition.
As well as informing our own colleagues, we also want to ensure climate change is better understood by our brokers and their clients. We offer them free access to four modules in the AXA Climate School, helping them focus on the challenges and solutions at a local level, and we already have more than 800 registered and using the resources.
We also undertake research to explore societal and environmental issues that impact our customers, using the results to inform and influence Government decision making, such as the Extreme Weather Risks Report that we launched last November.
This in-depth report coupled our own home and business insurance claims data with publicly available information from bodies such as Defra and the Environment Agency, which was used to create a Climate Risk Index of England highlighting areas most vulnerable to flooding and extreme heat.
The index is a valuable tool to help home and business owners better understand the risks they face, because they’re not always obvious. For example, flood risk isn’t confined to areas close to the coast or rivers and extreme heat doesn’t only impact the south of the country.
With Government plans to build 1.5m new homes over the next Parliament, the index also provides valuable insight into areas that should be avoided from a flood risk perspective, and we have been sharing the results of our research with ministers and MPs.
We have also recently renewed our call on the Government to appoint a Minister for Resilience – a commitment made by Labour while in Opposition. We believe this is crucial to put a focus on resilience and preparedness in all future decision making.
The impact of climate change can’t be under-estimated and it’s crucial to understand the risks and build resilience to effectively prepare for the future.
This is a guest article shared by AXA. These contributions reflect the views and expertise of the respective contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of Hedron Network or its affiliates.