Catastrophe Risk Financing in the US and the EU:A Comparative Analysis of Alternative Regulatory Approaches

This paper examines and compares regulatory and other government policies in the US and the EU generally and their approaches to the financing of catastrophe risk specifically. It is important to understand the fundamental differences between the two systems to gain insights into their disparate treatment of catastrophe risk financing. While policies could be improved in both jurisdictions, we argue that the much greater reform is needed in the US relative to the EU regulatory policies that are being developed. We offer recommendations on how US policies could be significantly improved as well as comment on issues facing the EU. We conclude with some observations on the potential for further progress in advancing and harmonizing the US and EU regulatory systems.