As a result of climate change, many experts fear that insurers may no longer be able to maintain coverage for a growing number of clients. This widespread decline in insurance accessibility, potentially dramatic for citizens, could also damage the industry’s own reputation.
In this context, what can be done? Insurers could better align coverage with actual risks, while also adapting pricing to reflect policyholders’ prevention efforts and investments.
These were among the reflections and solutions that emerged from a collaborative workshop inspired by design thinking held during the Journée de l’assurance de dommages (Property and Casualty Insurance Day), organized by Insurance Journal Publishing Group on March 31, 2026, in Montreal. The workshop, Turning the Unpredictable into an Action Plan, brought together approximately 50 brokers, claims adjusters, and other claims professionals.
Participants were asked to work in teams and propose solutions to change the rules of the game in order to preserve the sustainability of insurance in a context where an increasing number of clients will soon lose certain types of coverage, or may no longer be insurable at all.
To preserve participants’ freedom of expression during the workshop, Insurance Portal agreed not to identify them in this article.
Predictability and prevention
“We clearly need to change the rules of the game,” noted one participant. “There needs to be greater predictability for everyone,” observed another.
As the Quebec government prepares to publish a new generation of flood zone maps, insurers have an educational role to play with their clients. “The industry must shift further into prevention mode, explaining coverages, deductibles, and risks,” several participants said.
In fact, they argued that unless awareness efforts improve, a growing number of policyholders risk losing coverage. Ultimately, participants warned that a widespread decline in access to insurance could damage the industry’s reputation.
“Insurers must listen more closely to their clients, including when it comes to commercial risks,” participants added. “Active listening helps insurers better identify risks and improve coverage while promoting better client education so that clients can cope with climate change on their own.”
For their part, and with insurers’ support, clients must understand that by implementing preventive measures, they reduce risks and therefore trim insurance costs. In so doing, they also help create conditions that make it possible to maintain coverage in higher-risk areas.
Limiting risks: a shared responsibility
To reduce risks, the focus is often on measures that are relatively simple to implement that involve redirecting water away from the home using various methods, including by sealing windows, repairing and maintaining roofs, insulating foundations, installing backwater valves and water leak detection technologies, planting vegetation in strategic locations, and, of course, using resilient materials.
Insurers, meanwhile, must better understand region-specific risks in order to properly support their clients, according to the industry professionals gathered at the event. Insurers must also make greater use of expertise from outside the insurance sector, including sustainable architecture, mapping technologies, materials and construction engineering, and meteorology, in order to strengthen prevention efforts.
“Coverage must be more closely aligned with improved local risk modelling, particularly for wildfires and flooding,” participants maintained. “We need to encourage the use of sustainable materials, especially during post-loss reconstruction. We can no longer rebuild exactly as before.”
Some insurers have already acknowledged this reality by recently launching financial assistance programs.
As a result, insurers must adopt a supportive and innovative approach based on green solutions, especially if they want to attract younger generations, who are experiencing eco-anxiety, professionals noted.
One suggestion raised during the workshop was the creation of a 1-800 information line dedicated to sustainable renovation for policyholders, along with a flexible toolkit tailored to local and individual realities.
Pricing adjusted accordingly
Workshop participants believe the industry must base coverage decisions on mapping data, while also adapting or implementing packages that take into account clients’ efforts and investments.
In other words, the key is to reward clients who reduce risk and charge full price to clients who are negligent, indifferent, or poorly prepared.
“Premiums need to be more personalized based on risk, and pricing must be fairer,” participants stated. “If insurers recognize policyholders’ investments in prevention, the business relationship becomes a partnership.”
The professionals gathered therefore proposed segmenting clients according to their prevention efforts, financially evaluating those efforts and adjusting premiums accordingly.
Toward insurers in “advisory mode”
In return, insurers must invest heavily in client education, provide advice, and support them, participants emphasized. In so doing, insurers will strengthen their brand value.
Workshop participants believe that recent climate events, such as Hurricane Debby, are prompting policyholders and insurers alike to reflect more than ever on the urgency of changing their behaviours.
They also revisited the case of policyholders in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, who were severely affected by flooding. A number of these policyholders rebuilt using preventive approaches. As a result, they maintained their coverage, while insurers had been preparing to withdraw from an area considered uninsurable.
“The status quo is no longer an option,” participants insisted. “Insurers that move into advisory mode with their clients will stand out. Those that adapt their coverage based on their clients’ motivation, and that propose innovative solutions, will improve both their market position and their profitability.”
The workshop, moderated by Éric Letarte, was conducted using the collaborative game La partie prenante and focused on structured frameworks designed to analyze, prioritize, and define realistic actions for the industry. The team exercise followed the EDGY approach, a collaborative method aimed at breaking down silos, clarifying complex issues, and encouraging rapid decision-making.
Issues preselected by the Insurance Journal Publishing Group team included climate change, flood zones, auto theft, and cyber risks, with the first two topics generating the strongest reactions.
