How to talk to your clients about climate resilience

Forest scared by fire in Waterton National Park found in the Canadian Rockies — iStock.com/Don White

When speaking to clients about climate resilience, brokers need to bridge the gap between the property and casualty insurance industry’s emphasis on natural catastrophe protection and consumers’ focus on economic cost issues, a new report from Gore Mutual Insurance suggests.

In its Purpose Insights Report 2025, Gore’s research found 88% of 200 brokers surveyed say they generally take time to talk to clients about the benefits of climate resilience. Chief among the topics they discuss is “protection from extreme weather damage,” 46% of brokers say.

But cost-conscious consumers see climate resilience somewhat differently. Forty-three percent of consumers in Gore’s study cite the greatest benefit of climate resilience as “lower energy bills.”

Brokers need to recognize this consumer focus on cost savings when they talk to their clients about climate resilience, says Gaby Polanco Sorto, vice president of purpose, sustainability and office of the CEO at Gore Mutual.

“Economics right now is top of mind for all Canadians,” says Polanco Sorto, who spoke to Canadian Underwriter about the report’s findings. “Everything is getting more expensive. And so the concept of value, I think, is changing.”

Gore Mutual has been publishing its Purpose Insights Reports since 2023 to advance sustainability and resilience in the industry by sharing research and best practices. The 2025 edition examines climate change’s impact on homeowners and how the industry can help communities prepare.

Huge natural catastrophe losses in 2024 — more than $9.1 billion in insured damage losses — is shifting the clients’ attention to what is most valuable to them, Polanco-Sorto says.

For example, 42% of consumers in Gore’s study cite “protection from extreme weather damage” as a key benefit of investing in climate resilience.

That suggests an alignment between brokers and consumers. And brokers can seize on that.

Why resilience is the new ‘value’

“Over the past few years, the [consumer’s] concept of value has been having a brand new kitchen, having new, top-level appliances, new bathrooms,” says Polanco Sorto. “And in in the last couple years, you’ve noticed that [things] like that actually don’t matter if the house is underwater…

“Yes, okay, if you get energy-efficient appliances, you might see a slight change in your monthly energy bill. That’s different than investing in hurricane clamps or a sump pump, which isn’t exciting for homeowners. But sadly enough, I think the more news coverage there is of various communities being flooded, and the extreme wildfires that affected Jasper, that concept of value — of things you can’t replace — is becoming much more common and top-of-mind for consumers. It’s affecting the way people consider value.”

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The value of protecting clients’ homes for what’s coming is something P&C industry professionals need to start talking to consumers about, Polanco Sorto says. “The economic value of making these changes…automatically attracts the consumer.”

Canadian Underwriter’s 2025 National Broker Survey shows NatCats have become a major challenge facing Canadian P&C insurance brokers.

Fifty-one percent of 161 brokers in the 2025 survey identified “natural catastrophes/climate change” as a strong challenge facing the broker channel. That’s up from 38% in 2023.

“I think it’s becoming harder and harder to be a broker with the climate change issues and natural catastrophes we’re having,” Insurance Broker Association of Canada president Brett McGregor tells Canadian Underwriter. “It used to be sort of a once-in-a-career thing, when you would have a major disaster that you would deal with as a broker.

“Now, it feels like it’s once every few years. And for some unlucky brokers, it’s almost an annual event. I think that’s a big challenge for the industry.”

Clients want brokers to lead

Gore’s study suggests brokers are perhaps assuming that, in a polarized political climate, discussion about climate change may be unwelcome. But Polanco Sorto says there may be more alignment between brokers and their clients on climate risk than brokers may think.

“[Our] research in 2024 was really interesting around the concept of trust,” says Polanco Sorto. “We found that homeowners trust their brokers to make recommendations that will help them mitigate the risk of significant property loss and damage, and increase the value of their homes.’

“We saw brokers were kind of waiting [to have the conversation], and it looked like consumers were initiating the conversation first.

“At the same time, consumers were saying our brokers were really knowledgeable and could answer their questions.

“And so clients are actually really open to that [climate resilience] conversation now, versus talking about energy efficiency, which is not necessarily within our space. It’s been a really exciting opportunity we’ve seen over the last while.”