Former UN Climate Change official says insurers must be included in the policy architecture of sustainable development
In an exclusive interview with ICMIF, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General on Climate Change, Janos Pasztor, talks about his assessment on the role of the insurance sector in delivering the Paris agreement.
Mr Pasztor said that when it comes to mitigating the impact of climate change, the insurance industry had an obvious and immediate financial stake in the game. He went on to say that at COP21 there was an opportunity for the co-operative and mutual insurance sector to share how it is playing a leading role in doubling the industry’s investment in Smart Risk Investing. This provided an important signal for delivering a long-term culture of ‘smarter’ investment decisions.
“As one of the world’s largest industries, insurers are best positioned to assess and analyse risk, influence risk reduction behaviours and develop products to ensure sustainability of business models,” he said.
The interview with Janos Pasztor can be read in full by downloading the latest edition of Voice magazine from the ICMIF website. Read more
Image: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Lloyd's CEO Inga Beale to headline ICMIF mutual reinsurance conference
The International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) announced that Lloyd’s chief executive, Inga Beale, would deliver the keynote address at its 23rd Meeting of Reinsurance Officials (MORO). This year’s event, entitled Reinsuring the future: Building resilience through innovation, takes place on 6-8 June 2016 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel - Tower of London, London (UK).
The MORO is the co-operative and mutual insurance sector’s only global dedicated reinsurance conference.
Keynote speaker Ms Beale will share her unique perspective on the challenges facing the insurance industry and the future for Lloyd’s in a changing market with new global economics. Registration is now open for ICMIF’s premier reinsurance event. Read more
Foto: Inga Beale
Global investors mobilise action at Investor Summit on climate risk
On 27 January the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) participated in the Investor Summit on Climate Risk: Advancing the Clean Trillion.
The Summit was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York (USA) and was the first major event on climate change for investors and businesses to discuss the implications of the historic climate deal reached at the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris.
Shaun Tarbuck, chief executive, ICMIF, took part in the panel on Insurers investing in climate solutions: Managing risk and return. Speaking at the event, Mr Tarbuck said: “The Climate Change Summit (COP21) in Paris was a landmark event for the insurance sector, for ICMIF and for our members.
“The insurance sector is one of the largest industries in the world. With 6% of the global GDP; annual premium income of USD 5 trillion and assets of USD 35 trillion, insurance is a very significant sector in terms of growth, jobs and investment. The USD 35 trillion of assets held by the insurance sector represents about one third of total global investable assets,” he continued.
“The mutual and co-operative insurance sector represents around one third of the total insurance market with 40% market share in countries such as USA, Japan, France and Germany. Our members have made a serious and wholehearted commitment to playing our part in the climate change debate and in providing solutions that are practical and properly funded.” Read more
ICMIF signs up to the Paris Pledge for Action
Following the adoption of the new, universal climate agreement at the COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris (December 2015) to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) has joined the Paris Pledge for Action, affirming the organisation’s commitment to the COP21 Paris Agreement. By joining the pledge signatories promise to ensure that the ambition set out by the Paris Agreement is met or exceeded to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Read more
Mutual insurance: A new frontier in China?
ICMIF chief executive, Shaun Tarbuck, joined the expert speaker line-up at the Insurance Association of China (IAC) one-day training seminar on 15 January 2016.
In February 2015 the Chinese Government passed a new law allowing the set-up of mutual insurers and it is predicted that these new insurance mutuals will be granted mutual licences some time during the first half of 2016.
China is the fastest growing of the major insurance markets, having grown by 188% in the last seven years, but so far the mutual sector has been excluded from this growth.
“Following detailed discussions with the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), I have concluded that the Chinese believe that mutual insurance could go some way to solving some of their economic and social issues,” said Mr Tarbuck.
“The social issues around funding healthcare; an aging population; the increasing number of natural disasters through the effects of climate change; and poverty alleviation in the rural areas of China has, I believe, all contributed to their decision to open the market to mutual insurers as a potential solution,” he added.
“More will become clear this year, but the advent of mutuality is certainly set to be a new and exciting frontier for China”. Read more
