For most of insurance history, pricing risk meant looking at what had happened before and using it to estimate what might happen again. Flood maps, storm frequency, historical claims data, the whole discipline rests on the past being a reasonable guide to the future.
Climate change is breaking that assumption, and it's happening faster than many risk frameworks were built to handle.
The scale of the exposure
Property across OECD countries is worth an estimated $111 trillion, all of it exposed to some combination of flood, heat, wildfire or transition risk. That figure is equivalent to 196% of those countries' combined GDP.
The insurance gap tied to this is already visible. Since 1980, only one euro in five of EU flood and drought losses has been covered by private insurance, and in some countries that figure falls below 3%. In Australia, an estimated 4% of properties could be classed as too high-risk to insure by 2030 as damage costs from extreme weather continue to rise.
Why this is a regulatory issue, not just a sustainability one
The Central Bank of Ireland has been clear that climate risk should be assessed through existing Solvency II requirements and built into insurers' governance and risk management frameworks, not treated as a standalone sustainability exercise.
That means understanding how physical, transition and liability risks affect underwriting, pricing, claims, reserving, investment decisions and overall solvency, and being able to demonstrate that understanding through the ORSA process.
For professionals across underwriting, claims, broking and risk management, this is becoming a baseline expectation rather than a specialism reserved for sustainability teams.
What the Certificate in Climate Risk covers
The Certificate in Climate Risk is designed to build that knowledge in a structured, practical way. Delivered fully online and self-directed over 13 weeks, the programme is validated at Level 7 (10 ECTS) by Atlantic Technological University, Sligo.
The course covers the science behind climate change, how physical, transition and liability risks affect financial institutions, EU regulation and disclosure frameworks including the EU Taxonomy, CSRD and SFDR, and how to embed climate risk into organisational governance and culture.
Industry experts contribute at key points throughout to keep the content grounded in how insurance actually works, and all live sessions are recorded and available to revisit at any time.
Funding and getting started
Thanks to funding from IFS Skillnet, a 40% discount is currently available on the programme fee for eligible professionals based in the Republic of Ireland. To qualify, your employer needs to be registered with Skillnet. Places are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis.
If you're still deciding whether the Certificate is the right fit, join the Certificate in Climate Risk taster session on 26 August to hear more about the programme structure and content before you commit.
The Autumn/Winter intake is open now.
Find out more and sign up by visiting our Certificate in Climate Risk page