Flood risk has increased in France in the last 20 years and is projected to increase further in the future due to climate change and increase in exposure. Since 1982, France has had a natural disasters insurance system (CatNat') in place that covers flood damage. This insurance system has been combined with what are called Risk Prevention Plans' (PPRs) in order to stimulate the undertaking of flood risk mitigation measures by communities and households. However, these schemes do not provide optimal incentives for flood damage reduction. This is confirmed by the results from a survey about flood preparedness of 885 households who live in flood-prone areas in France, which are presented in this paper. Moreover, this study provides suggestions for improvement, which are assessed on their potential economic, social and political implications. Among these suggestions are increasing the effectiveness of PPRs and increasing the incentives to apply and implement PPRs; improving the monitoring of the implementation of damage mitigation measures; and the possibility to differentiate premiums and deductibles according to flood risk.
Poussin, JK; Botzen, WJW; Aerts, JCJH
Stimulating flood damage mitigation through insurance: an assessment of the French CatNat system
Environmental Hazards-Human And Policy Dimensions