1.1 Climate Change and Flood Risks
Already, floods impact more people globally than any other form of natural disaster. Yet the risk from
flood events is frequently underestimated (Swiss Re, 2012). The IPCC recently signalled that the
severity and frequency of flood disasters would rise in the future. Year on year, an even greater number
of people will be affected by flood damage. Further, total annual economic losses from flooding are also
anticipated to rise due to a greater concentration of vulnerable assets (Swiss Re, 2012). The need for
society to take adaptive measures against flooding is becoming urgent (IPCC, 2012). How governments
respond to this challenge varies considerably. Differences are related to historical, political and
institutional factors, national insurance market characteristics and variations in actual flood risks. Indeed,
a national flood compensation system that works in one country will not necessarily work in another.
Hence, although it is not realistic to think in terms of a one-size-fits-all solution (Jongejan and Barrieu,
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