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9/1/2021

U.S. Department of the Treasury Launches New Effort on Climate-Related Financial Risks in the Insurance Sector | U.S. …

U.S. Department of the Treasury Launches New Effort on
Climate-Related Financial Risks in the Insurance Sector
August 31, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that the Federal
Insurance O ice (FIO), in response to President Biden’s May 2021 executive order on climate
change, is requesting information and soliciting public comment on the insurance sector and
climate-related financial risks.
FIO’s e orts will focus on three initial climate-related priorities: (1) assessing climate-related
issues or gaps in the supervision and regulation of insurers, including their potential impacts
on U.S. financial stability; (2) assessing the potential for major disruptions of private
insurance coverage in U.S. markets that are particularly vulnerable to climate change
impacts, as well as facilitating mitigation and resilience for disasters; and (3) increasing FIO’s
engagement on climate-related issues and leveraging the insurance sector’s ability to help
achieve climate-related goals. The responses to the request for information will help inform
FIO’s assessment of the implications of climate-related financial risks for the insurance
sector. It also will help FIO better understand the need for and current availability of highquality, reliable, and consistent data related to these issues.
“Over the past 30 years, the incidence of natural disasters has dramatically increased and the
actual and future potential cost to the economy has skyrocketed. We are now in a situation
where climate change is an existential risk to our future economy and way of life,” Treasury
Secretary Janet L. Yellen said. “Today’s filing in the Federal Register is an important step
towards assessing climate-related financial risk in the insurance sector. Ensuring that
consumers have adequate information, and that the insurance industry is appropriately
assessing climate-related financial risk is essential as we work to address the climate crisis.”
Comments must be received within 75 days of the request for information’s publication in
the Federal Register.
The Federal Register notice is available here. For more information on the Federal Insurance
O ice, see here.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0337

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9/1/2021

U.S. Department of the Treasury Launches New Effort on Climate-Related Financial Risks in the Insurance Sector | U.S. …

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https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0337

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