Climate and Resiliency (EX) Task Force

The Climate and Resiliency (EX) Task Force (“CRTF”) of the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) met on August 11, 2025 at the NAIC’s Summer 2025 National Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to routine matters, such as adoption of the minutes from the CRTF meeting on March 26, 2025, the CRTF addressed the following matters.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS HANDBOOK

The CRTF received an update on the development of the Disaster Preparedness Handbook (the “Handbook”). The purpose of the Handbook is to be a comprehensive tool for state insurance regulators by providing:

• An overview of disaster preparedness;
• Information on pre-disaster education, including departmental exercises, risk communication strategies, and public outreach;
• Guidance on state insurance regulatory response protocols for the post-disaster period, such as bulletins to insurers, claims handling, and coordination with emergency management agencies;
• A compilation of after-action reports and lessons learned from recent disasters that can inform future preparedness efforts;
• Answers to common questions from public officials; and
• State-specific case studies that highlight best practices in disaster response, recovery and long-term resilience planning.

The CRTF formed a drafting group to prepare this Handbook following the NAIC’s Spring 2025 National Meeting and since being formed, the drafting group has met several times to prepare an outline of the Handbook. The Handbook is in the final stages of drafting, and a draft is expected to be finalized by the NAIC Fall 2025 National Meeting.

Center for Insurance Policy and Research: Catastrophe Risk Management Center of Excellence

Representatives of the NAIC’s Center for Insurance Policy and Research (“CIPR”) next reported on progress at the Catastrophe Risk Management Center of Excellence (“COE”). The COE offers technical support and training to state insurance departments on catastrophe (“CAT”) modeling and mitigation program design.

The CIPR reported on two of the COE’s recent initiatives. First, the COE has developed beginner and intermediate training models for regulators and is currently developing a new course focused on topics such as CAT and climate risk for financial regulators, the use of CAT models in property and casualty rate filings, reinsurance and alternative risk transfer and resilience. These training models dovetail with regulator education efforts elsewhere at the NAIC’s Summer 2025 National Meeting, including the adoption by the Property and Casualty Insurance (C) Committee of the NAIC Catastrophe Modeling Primer, a non-mandatory guide designed to familiarize regulators with probabilistic catastrophe models. The NAIC Catastrophe Modeling Primer introduces fundamental concepts surrounding probabilistic catastrophe models and serves as a bridge to the available training and materials offered by COE.

Second, the COE reported on the recent development of a “resilience hub” to assist state insurance regulators in developing, implementing and evaluating mitigation and resiliency programs. The resilience hub facilitates peer-to-peer learning, coordinates educational events, and provides legislative templates to help states design and implement mitigation and resilience initiatives.

The CIPR also discussed the need for consistency across the US in the approach and support of mitigation and resiliency efforts. The COE has been working with state regulators to develop standard approaches to support various mitigation and resilience initiatives and programs.

Natural Catastrophe Risk Dashboard

The CRTF then received an update on the NAIC natural catastrophe risk dashboard, which is intended to be a tool for insurance regulators to understand climate risks such as wildfire risks, convective storm risks and flood risks, as well as considerations for protection gaps. The dashboard is undergoing final revisions, and the CRTF is working to have a finalized version ready to be considered for adoption in the near future.

Fortified Roof Resiliency Study

The Alabama Department of Insurance (“Alabama DOI”) and the Center for Risk and Insurance Research then briefed the CRTF on their joint study evaluating the performance of Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (“IBHS”) Fortified™ roofs during Hurricane Sally. The Alabama DOI, in cooperation with the Alabama legislature and insurance industry, previously created the Strength Alabama Homes program, which provides grants to homeowners to retrofit their houses to meet enhanced construction standards developed by the IBHS to protect homes against severe weather events. The study found that claims and deductibles paid by insurers and policyholders were materially lower for homes meeting the Fortified™ standards than those built to conventional codes, highlighting the value of resilience-focused construction.

Property/Casualty Reinsurance Roundtable

The CRTF received an update on the property and casualty reinsurance roundtable that was hosted in California on July 23-24, 2025. Participants toured wildfire-impacted areas and heard presentations on topics such as current trends in the reinsurance market, the evolving catastrophe landscape and efforts by state insurance departments to develop resilience programs.

Climate Risk Disclosure Dashboard

The CRTF heard a presentation from Ceres, a nonprofit advocacy organization, on its recent report, 2025 Progress Report: Climate Risk Reporting in the U.S. Insurance Sector, which analyzes climate risk disclosures from over 500 insurance groups representing over 1,700 companies. According to this report, while more insurers are reporting on climate risk management and strategy, only a minority provide comprehensive metrics and targets and many reports lack operational specificity and progress tracking, highlighting a critical performance gap. Data from this report is available through an interactive dashboard that enables regulators and other individuals to analyze disclosure trends over time, benchmark company responses and identify emerging best practices.

To view additional updates from the US NAIC Summer 2025 National Meeting, visit our meeting highlights page.