Heatwaves, mold growth, and plastic waste are becoming costly threats to companies and insurers, driven by fossil fuel use and worsening climate impacts, according to a new risk assessment from Swiss Re.
Justine Calma reports for The Verge.
In short:
- Reinsurer Swiss Re warns that rising temperatures, plastic pollution, and mold pose growing legal and financial risks to businesses, particularly in sectors like insurance, agriculture, and healthcare.
- Heat-related damage — from wildfires to illness and power outages — is increasing property, health, and workers’ compensation claims, as insurers retreat from high-risk areas like California.
- Plastics, made from fossil fuels, are raising liability concerns as microplastics show up in food and human bodies, prompting lawsuits and raising questions about long-term health effects.
Key quote:
“With a clear trend to longer, hotter heatwaves, it is important we shine a light on the true cost to human life, our economy, infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare system.”
— Jérôme Haegeli, group chief economist at Swiss Re
Why this matters:
Heatwaves are now the deadliest weather threat in the U.S., straining power grids, damaging crops, and spreading heat-loving molds that can sicken people and destroy buildings. Insurance markets are already shifting, with major providers retreating from fire-prone regions or hiking premiums. At the same time, plastics are flooding ecosystems and our bodies with micro-sized particles whose full range of health impacts remain poorly understood. As scientists track their spread, and courts weigh company responsibility, businesses face a new frontier of liability risk tied to pollution they once considered external. The costs of fossil fuels are increasingly difficult to ignore — in dollars, in public health, and in legal exposure.
Read more: Extreme weather isn’t the future — it’s already straining budgets and resources
