Based on a workshop of nearly 100 experts, this report explores the two-way relationship between nature and insurance. Natural systems like wetlands and forests reduce disaster losses that stress insurance markets, while insurers can use their underwriting, pricing, investment, and advocacy tools to drive nature-positive outcomes across the economy. It finds that despite growing interest, few implemented approaches have yet achieved meaningful scale, and key barriers remain in integrating nature into catastrophe models and securing localised data.

The report argues that stabilising insurance markets long-term requires investing in nature-based risk reduction, and that insurance’s reach across virtually every economic sector makes it a uniquely powerful lever for protecting nature in return.

Partner: Environmental Defense Fund

Kousky, C., Environmental Defense Fund, & Burley, T. (2025). NATURE FOR INSURANCE AND INSURANCE FOR NATURE. Environmental Defense Fund. https://library.edf.org/AssetLink/uky3347ks0532vxm44um360jb0x2uwup.pdf