Zurich has called on governments, communities and insurers to rethink their approach to flood mitigation, particularly in Asia, where only 5% of losses are insured.

“Flood is the fastest-growing natural hazard worldwide,” Zurich Regional Chairman of Asia-Pacific and Middle East Geoff Riddell told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says more people now live on flood-prone coastal plains due to population pressure and urbanisation.

“The vast majority of money is spent on recovery after the event,” Mr Riddell said. “For every $90 in aid spent after the fact on flood disasters, only $10 is spent on mitigation. We need to be better prepared than we are.”

Zurich has completed a study with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which shows how mass urbanisation and climate change will worsen the impact of floods.

Worldwide flood losses nearly doubled in 2000-09 compared with the preceding decade, the report says. Coastal floods are likely to become more even frequent due to climate change.

Over the past two decades nearly 87% of aid was spent on emergency responses, reconstruction and rehabilitation, with only 13% for reducing and managing risks.

Mr Riddell says Zurich is working with the Red Cross in Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and Nepal on flood mitigation. “We have certainly learnt a lot in Asia.”

In Indonesia the insurer is part of a community program with aid group Palang Merah Indonesia that prepares volunteers for evacuations and sources shovels and sandbags for mitigation work in Jakarta.

“Simple things can be very effective,” Mr Riddell said.

The Zurich Foundation has spent “significant amounts” in Indonesia and Mexico to prevent flash floods and coastal and river floods.

Zurich’s resilience program in Indonesia aims to create a model for collaboration between the corporate sector and humanitarian organisations.

“Working across two different sectors, corporate and humanitarian, is a very promising approach.”

Mr Riddell says insurers and governments should collaborate more on Flood Re in the UK – a proposed non-profit flood pool to ensure insurance remains affordable.