Resilience beyond insurance: coordination in crisis governance

Abstract

The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of an increase in heavy rainfall events due to global warming and climate change, which can result in significant economic costs for insurance companies and businesses. To address this challenge, insurance companies are focusing on developing new risk management strategies and offering new products such as flood insurance. However, the article argues that effective and feasible coordination shortens recovery time and can therefore drastically reduce the financial costs of a crisis—that is, the insurance costs. The paper analyses the deficit in crisis management during heavy rain events in Germany, based on the 2021 Ahr valley flood. The analysis is conducted based on document analysis and interviews and focuses on three areas of deficit: coordination between crisis staffs and (1) civil society, (2) emergency responders, and (3) political leaders. The paper highlights the importance of coordination during a crisis, which can help to address the crisis more efficiently and effectively, minimise damage and get communities back on their feet faster. The paper recommends policy changes to improve interface management and disaster management coordination.