Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

[u/RunAmbitious2593]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer

The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.

Global carbon emissions are still rising and current policies will result in a rise in global temperature between 2.2C and 3.4C above pre-industrial levels. The damage at 3C will be so great that governments will be unable to provide financial bailouts and it will be impossible to adapt to many climate impacts, said Thallinger, who is also the chair of the German company’s investment board and was previously CEO of Allianz Investment Management...

...Thallinger said it was a systemic risk “threatening the very foundation of the financial sector”, because a lack of insurance means other financial services become unavailable: “This is a climate-induced credit crunch.”

“This applies not only to housing, but to infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, and industry,” he said. “The economic value of entire regions – coastal, arid, wildfire-prone – will begin to vanish from financial ledgers. Markets will reprice, rapidly and brutally. This is what a climate-driven market failure looks like.”

[u/Gimme_The_Loot]

Didn't insurance companies first figure out the link between smoking and lung cancer (or at least higher death rates) if I recall?

[u/solidspacedragon → u/Gimme_The_Loot]

Wouldn't surprise me. Honestly, you'd think that life insurance companies would be heavily promoting healthy living in the general population, so they made more money.

[u/Silvermoon3467 → u/solidspacedragon]

Even health insurance does to some extent. They don't actually make any money off of providing you health care, that's why they try to deny claims a lot – but most of their money is made off of people who make few or no claims, and most insurers have figured out that it's cheaper in the long run to pay for preventative care and screenings

If your doctor catches stuff early they can keep your health care costs within your deductible so you end up paying mostly out of pocket and they just get to profit off of your premiums

[u/Due_Log5121 → u/Silvermoon3467]

health insurance is just like the gym. they make the most money if you just subscribe but never show up.