Insurance Solutions for Climate Adaptation

Free Content Report Fintech & Insurtech April 2026 74 pages pdf

What you will learn

Despite growing climate awareness across Europe, citizens and farmers remain underinsured and under protected. A major gap exists between risk perception and action, driven by lack of awareness, trust issues, and cost concerns. Insurance tools, especially parametric solutions and NBS-linked incentives, hold strong potential, but require better public education and policy support to scale up.

Table of Contents

1
Introduction
2
European citizens, Climate adaptation and Insurance
3
Similarities and differences among European countries
4
Green Roof and Insurance
5
Farmers: climate change and (parametric) insurance
6
Conclusion

Index of Graphs

1
Concerns about climate change
2
Perceptions on the increase in frequency and severity of climate change
3
Relation between current concern level and future perception on climate change
4
Perceptions on the risk associated to different natural phenomena (1–5 scale)

Perceptions on the risk associated to different natural hazards (1–5 scale)

Comparison of perceptions of natural disaster events (general vs. exposed area)

Percentage on the experience of natural hazard and associated financial losses

Financial compensation mechanisms for damages suffered

Awareness of climate adaptation risk reduction measures

Availability to co-finance projects for the implementation of NBS

Willingness to invest in Nature-Based Solutions

Insurance coverage against natural phenomena per risk perception class

Insurance coverage against natural hazards per risk perception class

Barriers to insurance adoption

Incentives to insurance

Parametric insurance awareness

Parametric policies diffusion

Barriers to parametric insurance

Barriers to parametric and traditional insurance (comparison)

European countries under analysis (map)

Concerns about climate change by country

Frequency and severity of natural hazards in European regions

Perceptions on the risk associated to different natural phenomena by country

Perceptions on the risk associated to different natural hazards by country

Natural phenomena experienced by country

Natural hazards experienced by country

Economic losses suffered due to natural phenomena by country

Economic losses suffered due to natural hazards by country

Financial compensation mechanisms by country

Insurance coverage level for climate-related hazards by country

Barriers preventing insurance coverage by country

Barriers (excluding "never perceived such risk") preventing insurance coverage by country

Incentives to increase insurance coverage by country

Description of NBS, Grey Infrastructures and Hybrid solutions

Preferred channels through which European citizens would like to receive information on NBS

Type of co-financing methods European citizens would follow to invest in NBS

Incentives that enhance the willingness to finance NBS

Green roof diffusion among European citizens

Barriers to green roof adoption

Incentives that may promote green roof diffusion among European citizens

Geography of farmers exposed to natural hazards

Natural hazard impact on farmers in the past five years

Level of current concern expressed by farmers about climate change

Level of concern on the future increase in frequency and severity of climate change

Relation between current and future concern levels (farmers)

Perceived current concern levels to specific natural hazards (farmers)

Climate change adaptation measures implemented by Italian farmers

Incentives enhancing farmers' willingness to adopt climate adaptation measures

Insurance policies adopted by farmers against emerging natural hazards

Relationship between risk perception for specific natural hazards and decision to purchase insurance

Barriers preventing higher uptake of insurance for natural hazards

Incentives to increase insurance adoption among farmers

Knowledge about Parametric Insurance among Italian farmers

Adoption of Parametric Insurance among Italian farmers

Adoption barriers to parametric insurance among aware and unaware farmers

Factors influencing farmers to adopt Parametric Insurance

Conditions influencing farmers’ willingness to change to parametric insurance

Influence of the current climate change situation on farmers' willingness to purchase parametric insurance

You will know how to answer these key questions

How aware and concerned are European citizens about climate change and related risks?
What is the current level of insurance coverage against climate-related risks in Europe?
What are the main barriers preventing citizens from purchasing climate insurance?
What are Nature-Based Solutions, and how willing are citizens to adopt and co-finance them?
What incentives would most effectively drive greater insurance uptake?
How aware and informed are Europeans about parametric insurance, and what drives its adoption?
How are Italian farmers exposed to climate risks, and what adaptation strategies are they using?

The methodology used in this Report

The report is built around two main surveys:

European Citizen Survey: a quantitative survey has been administered to 951 citizens across six European countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) to collect information on climate change awareness, risk perception, experience of natural hazards, insurance coverage, and attitudes toward NBS and parametric insurance.

Italian Farmer Survey: a quantitative survey has been administered to 626 Italian farmers, focusing specifically on their exposure to natural hazard risks, risk perception, adaptation strategies already in place, and barriers and incentives related to insurance adoption.

Both surveys were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and chi-square tests to identify significant relationships

The report also integrates findings from the secondary literature from the PIISA Horizon Europe project.

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