Bringing together insurance professionals who are supporting to drive the Asian energy transition

When the rising trend in both overall and insured natural disaster losses first emerged in the 1970s, Munich Re was quick to identify the greater need for expertise in this field. Since then, its experienced scientists and insurance experts have been analysing and assessing the full spectrum of natural hazards, ranging from cyclones, severe thunderstorms and floods to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Risk analyses reflecting the current state of scientific knowledge form the basis for risk models, the range of natural hazard covers for our clients and the development of innovative insurance solutions.

Among the wide array of Munich Re solutions on offer, the Syndicate has a growing Green Solutions portfolio designed to serve primary specialty insurance clients. One type of insurance solution, performance guarantees, can help improve the bankability and facilitate the upscaling of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies like photovoltaic, wind, hydrogen or battery storage and carbon capture.

With annual average temperatures reaching around 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time, 2024 surpassed the previous record from 2023. This makes the past eleven years the warmest since the beginning of systematic record-keeping.

Climate Finance is a growth opportunity for us in this area, with total market value growing from $200 billion in 2018 to nearly $1 trillion in 2022 (source: Climate Policy Initiative). 

In this regard, Munich Re Specialty is positioned to help, with specific business units in Renewable Energy, Green Tech Solutions, Blended Finance, Carbon and Natural Capital and parametric.

The discussion then shifted to the kind of decarbonisation technologies they saw fit for deployment and ready to be scaled in named Asian markets - Solar, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), Wind, Hydro, Geothermal, Hydrogen, Compress Natural Gas, as well as what areas the insurance industry look to “de-risk” from a developer, lenders perspective. 

Finally, the conversation focused on challenges that are potentially hindering further acceleration of green energy projects, delving onto critical topic areas such as supply chains, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Grid stability, the influence of Natural Catastrophes, the pace of development of new technologies, and the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders.