There is no doubt in the mind of major reinsurance company Munich Re that climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather events and that this will have a major impact on the insurance industry.

And just maybe, where the science has not been able to make an impact on the world taking action on climate change, just maybe money and insurance premiums ( or lack thereof ) might get the point across.

Munich Re's report states that climate change is "real and continuing"

Munich Re report the situation themselves as follows

Altogether, a total of 950 natural catastrophes were recorded last year, nine-tenths of which were weather-related events like storms and floods. This total makes 2010 the year with the second-highest number of naturalcatastrophes since 1980, markedly exceeding the annual average for the last ten years (785 events per year). The overall losses amounted to around US$ 130bn, of which approximately US$ 37bn was insured. This puts 2010 among the six most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980. The level of overall losses was slightly above the high average of the past ten years.

As the report says it is the frequency of major storms,floods and extreme weather events, including droughts that is causing the biggest concern. These have tripled in the past 30 years. The Munich Re Annual report says the annual frequency of weather and hydrological catastrophes has risen globally from under 400 in 1980 to over 900 annually .Last year saw 960 such events in the year and they are expecting a similar number for 2011.