Cunningham urges insurers to become proactive resilience partners
Central Bank of Ireland Director of Insurance Seána Cunningham urged the insurance sector to become proactive resilience partners amid escalating climate damages. Speaking at the UNEP summit in Dublin on September 18, 2026, she called for expanded adaptation finance.
From reactive payouts to risk partners
Addressing the UN Environment Programme summit, Cunningham pointed to Storm Éowyn, which generated approximately €300 million in claims as the costliest storm event in Irish history.
“The answer is not simply to force insurers to cover uneconomic risks,” Cunningham said, warning that market retreats depress property values and threaten financial stability.
The Central Bank of Ireland advocates for product innovation, shared climate hazard data, and mandatory resilience standards for policyholders.
Cunningham noted that insurers must evolve from reactive claims handlers into proactive risk partners, citing Ireland's pilot testing of the EIOPA flood risk tool.
Closing the adaptation funding gap
The remarks coincide with several regulatory initiatives, including the EU Commission's plans for a Climate Insurance Alliance and a new Department of Finance working group tackling Ireland's flood protection gap.
While climate mitigation remains the primary global focus, Cunningham emphasized that adaptation finance is essential to absorb warming already baked into the climate system.
She highlighted findings from a joint Central Bank and Climate Change Advisory Council report on removing structural barriers to adaptation funding.
Rhetoric cannot build flood walls
Cunningham rightly flags the systemic threat of uninsurable properties, yet voluntary industry appeals remain insufficient.
Without binding mandates or public backstops, private underwriters will simply continue exiting vulnerable flood zones.
Strategic rhetoric cannot substitute for concrete funding mechanisms.