Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that climate change is one factor that’s driving the price of insurance.
“Climate change has created tremendous volatility, and it continues to evolve,” Greenberg said. “And the concentrations of values in areas where, where the climate – the impact of the climate – is greatest continues to increase.”
Known for insuring businesses and wealthy individuals, Chubb is also a major insurer of agriculture, Greenberg said. According to him, 60% of Chubb’s business is in the U.S. while 40% is outside the country. Geenberg added that Chubb’s “two biggest regions” are North America and Asia, which he said he thinks have the greatest potential for economic growth in a broad sense.
General inflation and litigation costs are also sending insurance prices up, Greenberg said. He claimed that litigation is a “money-making industry” which “constantly perfects new theories of liability.” Greenberg added that corporate America and, in turn, the consumer, shoulder the weight of these costs.
“We intermediate money, we don’t produce money,” he said. “And so, therefore, reflecting loss cost, when you think general inflation, when you think climate change, when you think litigation, that is driving the pricing of insurance.”
Chubb shares jumped in mid-May when Warren Buffett announced the company was Berkshire Hathaway‘s secret stock pick. At Wednesday’s close, Chubb was up 16.7% year-to-date.
Chubb provided former President Donald Trump with a $91.6 million appeal bond in March after he was found liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of rape. Days later, the company backed out of talks to provide Trump’s $464 million appeal bond in his civil fraud case.
