Six legal actions have been filed in the US accusing around 40 different companies of sharing a portion of the blame for Hurricane Katrina because their activities had contributed to global warming.

That was just one example cited at a RIMS session on how recent events in the news have driven change in the insurance industry and persuaded companies to take a broader view of risk management.

Car manufacturers and utilities are among those being sued and panellist Mark Plumer, of law firm Heller Ehrman LLP, said the actions were a sign of things to come.

"We are becoming aware that more lawsuits like this one are being filed," Mr. Plumer said. "Whether or not a case can be made in court that these companies caused Hurricane Katrina, the companies will defend themselves and spend a lot of money doing it.

"You don't have to believe in global warming to get stung by it. It's a risk that companies need to be aware of."

In future, it was possible that directors and officers of companies could be liable if it were shown that they had not done enough to reduce the output of greenhouse gases by their companies. And risk managers would have to bear this in mind when negotiating insurance policies.

The panel included Lance Ewing, risk manager for Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and Paul Winston, editor of Business Insurance magazine.

It looked at four areas — stock options backdating, environmental issues, natural disasters and privacy — from a media, risk and legal perspective.

Mr. Ewing said the effects of natural disasters were growing.

"Consider this: Recorded natural disasters rose from 100 in 1975 to 400 in 2005," Mr. Ewing said. "The definition of a natural disaster has broadened and they are becoming more costly."

He added that more than half the US population lived in areas frequented by natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, avalanches and wild fires.

And ten percent of the world's population could be affected by 1,511 active volcanoes.

With more people and businesses situated in coastal areas than ever before, the potential cost of natural disasters had also risen, Mr. Ewing added.

For example, the estimated damage from a hurricane hitting Long Island and New Jersey was more than $50 billion.

Hence, those in disaster-prone areas will face high premiums that are likely to go on rising, Mr. Ewing added.

"I know of one company that was being asked for $62 million for $100 million of coverage for a facility on the Gulf Coast," Mr. Ewing said. "The offer stood for nine days and when they decided to accept, the insurer told them, 'Sorry, the offer's expired, now the price is $82 million'."

Mr. Winston said environmental risks had broadened from pollution through oil spills, hazardous waste leaks and airborne toxins to newer risks such as black mould and accidental dispersal of nanotechnology or genetically modified crops.

"Environmental risk is the risk that keeps on giving," Mr. Winston said. "And we can expect it to keep giving, particularly with the effects of globalisation.

"So much industry has expanded to places that may not have such solid environmental controls as the US.

"The US is well known as the biggest polluter in the world, but it does a better job of controlling the hazardous stuff than places like India. I would expect that we will see something of the scale of Bhopal in the future, because those controls are lacking."

Mr. Plumer said bioaccumulation was another risk factor that could cause companies problems in future. Certain chemicals — which can often be traced back to individual manufacturers — are accumulating in human bodies and it's possible that some in future may be proven to have caused harm.

Firms that hire contractors should consider the risks of environmental damage by those they hired, Mr. Ewing said.

He cited examples of contractors dumping polluting substances such as oil and asbestos.