Sustainability risks & opportunities in the insurance industry

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to provide an overview of relevant sustainability risks and opportunities in the insurance industry, where we address the asset side, the liability side, and a broader corporate perspective. Furthermore, we discuss approaches on how insurers can deal with these sustainability risks and opportunities, and provide selected empirical insight from the literature and (industry) surveys on current practices mostly for the European market. Our study emphasizes that while climate change represents an important factor in this context, it is by far not the only one. Insurers should thus take a broader approach on managing sustainability risks and opportunities. Furthermore, key barriers include a lack of data and knowledge, which impede transparency between firms with respect to their sustainable management approach.