Jamie Brache, 2017 VCIA Conference General Session Industry Keynote 

Some of you might have heard recently that a giant iceberg about the size of the State of Delaware (or twice the size of Luxembourg to our more Eurocentric friends) has broken off an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula and is now adrift in the Weddell Sea.

At 5,800 sq km the new iceberg, expected to be dubbed A68, is half as big as the record-holding iceberg B-15 which split off from the Ross Ice Shelf in the year 2000, but it is nonetheless believed to be among the 10 largest icebergs ever recorded.  According to experts, this event will not itself result in sea level rises.  As one cool scientist described it “it’s like your ice cube in your gin and tonic – it is already floating and if it melts it doesn’t change the volume of water in the glass by very much at all.”

That being said, it is a reminder that climate change is upon us, whether you believe it is a natural occurrence, anthropocentric, or a little bit of both.  While climate change is accepted to have played a role in the wholesale disintegration of the Antarctic ice shelves, there is no evidence that the calving of this giant iceberg is linked to such processes.  However, climate change could have made the situation more likely, according to scientists.

The insurance industry is starting to play a role (indeed, must play a role) in mitigation strategies and resiliency when it comes to climate change. At the VCIA Annual Conference this August, Jamie Brache, Deputy Managing Director of Credit & Political Risk at Zurich North America, will provide his thoughts on the impact of climate change on the broader insurance marketplace and, drawing on his background, discuss some of the potential implications of climate change on risk management and the global political risk environment.  I hope I will see you there!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Rich Smith
VCIA President