Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.46.3.7
The Role of Government in Insuring Natural Catastrophe Risk – The Best Way Forward, EU Initiative, and Examples from France and Italy
Morana Derenčinović Ruk
orcid.org/0000-0002-6624-7896
; Adriatic osiguranje d.d.
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Climate change is causing increasingly frequent and intense natural catastrophes, creating significant economic and social losses globally and locally. State intervention is key to reducing the insurance gap, stabilizing the market, and strengthening the
resilience of society, by combining prevention (ex ante) and recovery (ex post) efforts through public-private partnerships. This paper presents and describes state intervention and the importance of the social role of insurance from both private and
governmental perspectives, as the state must ensure the availability and affordability of insurance for vulnerable groups. Various forms of public-private partnerships help predict recovery costs, thus preventing budgetary shocks and financial difficulties.
Additional risk diversification is achieved through the increasingly popular issuance of catastrophe bonds (Cat-bonds), which appeal to institutional investors and provide necessary funds. The paper analyses the EU proposal for a centralized European safety mechanism for the prevention and recovery of natural catastrophe risks and lists countries worldwide that have established state schemes for the protection and reduction of natural catastrophe risks, with special reference to the French CATNAT regime, as the oldest in Europe, and the Italian scheme, as the most recent. Both approaches highlight the importance of adapting to local specificities, which can serve as a model for other countries, as well as an integrated approach that is crucial for reducing the insurance gap and ensuring sustainable economic growth in the context of growing natural catastrophe risks.
Keywords
insurance; natural catastrophe risks; insurance gap; state intervention; moral hazard.
Hrčak ID:
341001
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2025.
Visits: 640 *