The issue of environmental protection and sustainability is not new, it having been a subject of political debate even thirty years ago. The Paris Accords in 2015 pushed it further up the agenda for good.

When it comes to the ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) sustainability framework, the insurance industry still seems to be focussing very heavily on the "E" for environment . A distinction has to be made here between insurers who actually want to become "green" and those who use the issue of "sustainability" as a pretext for restricting their insurance coverage. The latter affects in particular industrial companies seeking to make their business models sustainable while developing their own sustainability DNA.

Markets remain challenging

The accumulation and increasing intensity of claims in many lines have led to a significant hardening of the market in recent years. As a consequence, premiums have increased, terms and conditions have worsened, (silent) cyber and pandemic clauses have been muddled together and capacities reduced. This trend is being exacerbated by the restrictions imposed as part of the ongoing debate about sustainability. Risk carriers have to reconcile the sustainability of their own business processes, investments, risk policies and product design with the goals they have committed themselves to. In so doing, it’s still important to continue to fulfil the overall economic mandate: the provision of insurance cover and support to help customers transform.