Last year the Association of British Insurers (ABI) called on the government to cut carbon dioxide emissions, improve coastal defences and develop more weather-resilient buildings in a bid to help the UK protect itself from the effects of global climate changes.

It concluded and was concerned that the cost of dealing with worsening storms was likely to increase by a massive 66% in some regions.

Internationally renowned expect on climate change, Dr Andrew Dlugolecki, prepared the report for the ABI. It was the first to quantify the direct effect and possible costs of changing weather patterns on the insurance industry. It not only highlighted the likely future effects, but also commented on what had already occurred over several years:

• There had been a decade of significant increases in the occurrences of extreme hot and wet weather, with 34 months of consistently intense hot weather, compared with the previous average of just 12 months per decade
• Over the last 50 years the incidents of winter storms crossing the UK had doubled
• Weather related insurance claims had doubled between 1998 and 2003 compared with the prior 5 years and the rise had cost the industry an extra £3 billion

World leaders attending the G8 summit in 2005 identified the likely effects of changing weather patterns on various industries. It had severe warnings for the insurance market and property investors in the UK, stating that windstorms are expected to increase by 15% and are likely to cause widespread damage to inadequately protected buildings.