‘Why are French forests so underinsured?’

In this article, originally titled « Pourquoi les forêts françaises sont-elles si peu assurées ? », published on 7 September 2026 in The Conversation, Marielle Brunette (INRAE, BETA) and Fanny Claise (INRAE, BETA) analyse the reasons for the low uptake of insurance in French private forests, even though these forests are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards such as wildfires, droughts and insect infestations.

The authors show that only a small proportion of forest land is currently insured. They highlight the various barriers to the development of such policies, including their cost, the sometimes limited scope of cover, and the existence of public support schemes. They also provide an international comparative analysis of measures likely to promote the development of forest insurance.