<p>Background: As a result of the financial markets ever ongoing product innovation a new derivative was introduced in the USA in 1997. A derivative that derived it's value, not from the price of an underlying asset, but instead from a climate factor. It's been known for a long time that revenue in certain industries are affected by weather conditions. The suppliers of weather derivatives claim that these weather sensitive businesses can user weather derivatives in order to lessen weather risk. </p><p>Purpose: To do a critical evaluation of how weather derivatives can be used by companies as a risk management tool. </p><p>Results & Realization: The usefulness of weather derivatives have been evaluated by studies of the effect on the revenue of constructed example businesses in different situations andby using different types of weather derivatives. A collection of problems related to weather derivatives have been collected from the existing theoretical framework on weather derivatives. This thesis offers an in dept description of how different types of weather derivatives function and how they can be used by business in order to reduce weather risk. We conclude that weather derivatives do perform a function as a risk management tool. Although it's important that the end is aware of the problems concerning weather derivatives in order to be able to manage weather risk in a proper fashion.</p>

Background: As a result of the financial markets ever ongoing product innovation a new derivative was introduced in the USA in 1997. A derivative that derived it's value, not from the price of an underlying asset, but instead from a climate factor. It's been known for a long time that revenue in certain industries are affected by weather conditions. The suppliers of weather derivatives claim that these weather sensitive businesses can user weather derivatives in order to lessen weather risk. Purpose: To do a critical evaluation of how weather derivatives can be used by companies as a risk management tool. Results &amp; Realization: The usefulness of weather derivatives have been evaluated by studies of the effect on the revenue of constructed example businesses in different situations andby using different types of weather derivatives. A collection of problems related to weather derivatives have been collected from the existing theoretical framework on weather derivatives. This thesis offers an in dept description of how different types of weather derivatives function and how they can be used by business in order to reduce weather risk. We conclude that weather derivatives do perform a function as a risk management tool. Although it's important that the end is aware of the problems concerning weather derivatives in order to be able to manage weather risk in a proper fashion.