More needs to be done if we want people to be proactive when it comes to flood risk reduction, according to research conducted as part of the Insurance for Adaptation project financed by the Austrian Climate Research Program.
The study looked at three European countries – Austria, England, and Romania – and found that there is “room for improvement” both in the public and private insurance sectors. “Currently neither insurance nor governments successfully encourage risk reduction,” said Susanne Hanger, IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis), researcher who led the study.
IIASA said the research, which was published in the Risk Analysis journal, examined different public and private incentives for risk reduction and how they are associated with actual risk reduction behaviour. It found that neither private insurance nor public compensation is linked to less risk reduction.
Hanger noted: “Increased and more targeted efforts particularly from local authorities will be important, and have the capacity to change the picture.” She said that amid extreme events due to climate change, this will be exceedingly important.
“This in turn is important for insurance to remain viable and for governments to not overspend on disaster aid,” added Hanger. Privatising all flood risk insurance is not recommended, with Hanger saying public and private schemes should be coordinated better.
It’s worthwhile to note that in England, it was found that the UK government’s efforts to raise disaster risk reduction awareness have reached many households. In contrast, national level information efforts are limited in Austria.
The study, which surveyed over 1,800 individuals, found little evidence that flood damage compensation makes people less likely to take personal risk reduction measures.
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