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3.	Billion Dollar Storms
	Insurance company executives are worried about the environment. And this isn't just because recent hit movies like 'Twister' raise public awareness of extreme weather activity. The industry is reeling from a number of unusually destructive hurricanes, typhoons and floods since 1987. Weather changes linked to climate change may be causing a massive upward spiral in insurance claims and costs, thereby putting at risk the very businesses that traditionally help others safeguard against natural disasters. The disturbances have left a trail of human and material destruction in their wake, prompting industry insiders to dub them 'billion dollar storms'. Insurance claims have shot up dramatically. Coverage has decreased. And premiums have gone up, especially for property insurance. Companies raising a cry of concern over this untidy state of affairs range from Sumitomo Marine and Fire Insurance in Japan to Zurich Insurance in Switzerland. At the UN, an industry coalition representing more than 60 insurance companies recently asked governments for early and substantial reductions in greenhouse gases - beyond current commitments by governments to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2000. The ultimate effect of climate change on the intensity and frequency of storms remains poorly understood by scientists. But what is clear to industry representatives is that small changes could lead to more billion dollar storms and less predictable weather. The best insurance policy of all, they argue, would be immediate and decisive government action to reduce emissions now. [insurance executives turn activist over the cost of climate change]
	re-insurance n.the international pooling of risks across many insurance companies to reduce exposure to specific large disasters like billion-dollar storms global warnming n.the idea that temperatures will rise across the planet climate change n.a somewhat more flexible interpretation that foresees extreme weather fluctuations in all directions global change n.a still more inclusive concept that sees broad changes in climate, vegetation cover and other geographical phenomena as inter-linked
	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 1995:Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change: Scientific - Technical Analyses Contribution of Working Group II to the Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, GB: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Swiss Re. Global Warming: Element of Risk. Zurich, CH: Swiss Reinsurance Company, 1994. 48 p.
Virtual Ideas	Insurance Industry Perspectives on Climate Change

"When a major industry such as the insurance sector starts to worry, so should we...Insurers know from experience how expensive it can be when people fail to protect themselves adequately from risks." - Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director, UNEP Billion Dollar