The global state of sustainable insurance: understanding and integrating environmental, social and governance factors in insurance

A report by the Insurance Working Group of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative:

This landmark report addresses the fundamental role of the insurance industry in sustainable development, while insurers are communicating strong risk signals stemming from a wide range of environmental, social and governance issues – from climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and water scarcity, to poverty, emerging man-made health risks, ageing populations, child labour and corruption.

It explores the complex relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, core insurance operations, and the insurance industry. The report is based on a pioneering global survey conducted in 2009 by the UNEP FI Insurance Working Group and its Academic Working Group on the understanding and integration of ESG factors in insurance underwriting and product development. The comprehensive survey covered a wide spectrum of ESG factors as they relate to the insurance business, primarily—climate change, biodiversity loss & ecosystem degradation, water management, pollution, financial inclusion, human rights, emerging man-made health risks, ageing populations, regulations, disclosure, ethics & principles, and alignment of interests. The survey obtained respondents from 60 territories worldwide—from Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and Latin America & the Caribbean—with over 3,800 years of cumulative insurance experience, and generated nearly 2,700 pages of data.

The report was launched at the 2009 UNEP FI Global Roundtable in Cape Town, South Africa, which convened leaders and experts from the financial sector, governments, civil society and academia to discuss and act on the sustainability-finance nexus across the insurance, investment and banking industries, and to set the agenda for the coming years.