Insurance Law Principles in an International Context: Compensating Losses Caused by Climate Change

Abstract

This article examines the challenges of paying for loss caused by climate change. It discusses how weather-related harms might become uninsurable by private companies in the future as the adverse effects of climate change increase in severity. Additionally, this article recognizes the difficulty in imposing civil liability on wrongdoers for climate-related harms, and explores options for state-sponsored or state-subsidized insurance. Finally, the authors examine possibilities for an international insurance fund, but eventually conclude that such a fund would unlikely be endorsed at the international level and would not benefit Canadians.