The Impact of Climate Change on Insurance Law: Redefining Risk in Natural Disaster Insurance

Climate change, as the most fundamental global challenge of the twenty-first century, profoundly impacts insurance law. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters are fundamentally transforming the insurance sector’s risk calculation models, coverage scope, and premium structures. This study analyzes the impact of climate change on insurance law, the necessity of redefining the concept of risk, and coverage issues in natural disaster insurance from an analytical and critical perspective. A comprehensive assessment is conducted in light of the insurance provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC), European Union regulations (Solvency II, EIOPA guidelines), international reports (IPCC, Swiss Re sigma, Munich Re NatCatSERVICE), and comparative law data. The study employs a dogmatic legal method combined with comparative law methodology. State-backed disaster insurance models (DASK, Flood Re, Cat Nat, NFIP) are compared, and a new liability and coverage model aligned with climate change adaptation is proposed. The findings reveal that traditional actuarial models based on historical data are increasingly inadequate, the insurability of certain climate risks is under threat, and comprehensive legislative reforms—particularly the expansion of Turkey’s DASK model to cover climate-related disasters—are urgently needed.