Energy Economics and Finance Seminar
Event Summary
The seminar series in Energy Economics & Finance (EEF) is jointly organized by Wharton’s Business Economics and Public Policy Department, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and Wharton’s Business, Climate and Environment Lab. The scope of the seminar includes regulation and policy papers. The scope of the seminar also includes environmental and transportation issues, as long as there is a connection with energy. Sessions are biweekly on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Snacks, beer, and wine will be served after the seminar!
For Fall 2025, the seminar will be held in-person in the Kleinman Center Classroom (Fisher Fine Arts Building Room 306).
Find and add a Google Calendar version of the schedule on the BEPP seminar page.
To sign up for the seminar, please send your name, email, and affiliation to Dhivya Kaushik: dhivya@wharton.upenn.edu
Talk Title: Climate Risk and Insurer Adaptation: Evidence from the 2017–2018 California Wildfires
Abstract: Climate change poses growing challenges to the stability and functioning of insurance markets. This paper studies whether insurers are adapting to climate risk by changing their underwriting behavior in response to large losses, and the broader implications of insurer climate risk management on the functioning of insurance markets. Using firm-specific losses from the 2017–2018 California wildfire seasons as a one-time shock, we find that insurers that suffered greater wildfire losses reduced underwriting in high fire hazard areas within California, with stronger retreat among those with higher self-disclosed climate risk management quality. These insurers also curtailed underwriting in other high fire hazard states and in hurricane-prone areas in Florida, suggesting both geographic and cross-peril spillovers. The selective retreat of climate-aware insurers from high-risk areas raises concerns about the concentration of solvency risk and coverage reliability. At the same time, these firms provide stronger incentives for hazard mitigation, highlighting policy opportunities to enhance both insurance supply and climate adaptation.
Penny Liao
Fellow, Resources for the FutureYanjun (Penny) Liao is an economist and fellow at Resources for the Future. Her research primarily focuses on issues of natural disaster risk management and climate adaptation.
Fall Seminar Dates:
- 9/29: Ishan Nath
- 10/20: Robert Metcalfe
- 11/3: Penny Liao
- 11/17: Shaoda Wang
- 12/1: Karen Palmer
