Extreme Weather Events and Insurance Webinar Series

Webinar

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Households, Homeowners, and Risk

October 16, 2025

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

Materials

Panelist Bios

About

Financial losses due to extreme weather events are increasing. Insurers, states, and the federal government are all part of an extensive insurance and recovery system in the United States. Homeowners, landlords, utilities, infrastructure managers, and others all absorb some portion of risk of loss due to extreme weather. This system is becoming financially unsustainable and unable to appropriately respond to the current risk landscape. The way to repair the system may appear to be a straightforward economic solution, but the range of responses in terms of how to share and mitigate risk are driven by a mix of business interests, policy, household economics, individual risk perception and tolerance, and shared community attitudes.

This webinar series will summarize the growing body of scientific research on these issues, examine it in the current context of escalating risk and increasing and compounding losses, and identify areas of further research as we discuss potential ways forward.

The first in the series will focus on households and homeowners, considering the insurance crisis for property owners, risk tolerance, what drives decisions about where people choose to live, and community dynamics that can help or hinder risk mitigation, adaptation, and disaster preparedness.

Speakers:

Rebecca Elliott
Associate Professor of Sociology
London School of Economics and Political Science

Max Besbris
H.I. Romnes Associate Professor of Sociology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Carlos Martín
Vice President, Research and Policy Engagement
Resources for the Future

Contact

Stacey Giroux Wells

(202) 334-2410
sgirouxwells@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Insurance as Adaptation

December 12, 2025

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM (ET)

Upcoming

About

Financial losses due to extreme weather events are increasing. Insurers, states, and the federal government are all part of an extensive insurance and recovery system in the U.S. Along with homeowners, utilities, infrastructure managers, and others all absorb some portion of risk of loss due to extreme weather. This system is becoming financially unsustainable and unable to appropriately respond to the current risk landscape. The way to repair the system may appear to be a straightforward economic solution, but the range of responses in terms of how to share and mitigate risk are driven by a mix of business interests, policy, household economics, individual risk perception and tolerance, and shared community attitudes.

This webinar series will summarize the growing body of scientific research on these issues, examine it in the current context of escalating risk and increasing and compounding losses, and identify areas of further research as we discuss potential ways forward.

The final webinar in the series will address insurance more broadly as a form of adaptation, and the limits to insurance in terms of spreading risk and risk reduction, its business model, and resilience for individuals and communities. Questions to explore include:

What are the limits to the idea of insurance as adaptation? What are the opportunities there?

How do we configure a broader range of actions, including insurance, that creates a safer world?

What are alternative ways to manage risk if insurance is no longer available, particularly for those who would be most impacted by loss of insurance?

Speakers:

Carolyn Kousky
Associate Vice President, Economics and Policy Analysis
Environmental Defense Fund

Jason Thistlethwaite
Associate Professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development
University of Waterloo

Mark Bove
Natural Catastrophe Solutions Manager
Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.

Moderator:

Adelle Thomas
Senior Director, Climate Adaptation, Environmental Health
Natural Resources Defense Council

Contact

Stacey Giroux Wells

(202) 334-2410
sgirouxwells@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Infrastructure, Utilities and Who Pays

December 1, 2025

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Register

Upcoming

About

Financial losses due to extreme weather events are increasing. Insurers, states, and the federal government are all part of an extensive insurance and recovery system in the United States. Homeowners, landlords, utilities, infrastructure managers, and others all absorb some portion of risk of loss due to extreme weather. This system is becoming financially unsustainable and unable to appropriately respond to the current risk landscape. The way to repair the system may appear to be a straightforward economic solution, but the range of responses in terms of how to share and mitigate risk are driven by a mix of business interests, policy, household economics, individual risk perception and tolerance, and shared community attitudes.

This webinar series will summarize the growing body of scientific research on these issues, examine it in the current context of escalating risk and increasing and compounding losses, and identify areas of further research as we discuss potential ways forward.

The second webinar will focus on infrastructure and will explore the different and sometimes competing interests and incentives for utilities, insurers, and communities, given the need to better prepare for extreme weather events. We will examine questions like long-term preparedness for extreme weather and changing environmental conditions, funding and financing, and the impact of shared and differing narratives on these issues.

Speakers:

Michael Mastrandrea
Research Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Stanford University

Matthew Reis
Vice President, Strategy and Performance
DC Water

Adie Tomer
Senior Fellow, Brookings Initiative on Climate Research and Action
Brookings Metro

Moderator:

Bilal Ayyub
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Maryland

Contact

Stacey Giroux Wells

(202) 334-2410
sgirouxwells@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

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Extreme Weather Events and Insurance Webinar Series

Dropdown items

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Insurance as Adaptation

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Infrastructure, Utilities and Who Pays

Extreme Weather Events and Insurance: Households, Homeowners, and Risk