Insurance businesses are rethinking their strategies and the way that they undertake business, as 55% of senior executives working in the sector said that over the last two years, they have experienced increased pressure on ESG matters from stakeholders such as regulators, customers and employees, in comparison to 46% across all sectors.
According to a new survey by legal and business services firm DWF, more than a quarter (28%) of insurance executives worldwide felt that their company has a weak ESG record.
The survey, which polled 480 senior executives from 13 countries, shows that 65% believe that the poor ESG performance is affecting their company a ‘great deal’, compared to an average of 59% across all the sectors surveyed.
This is despite 55% of insurers saying that they had experienced increased pressure on ESG matters from stakeholders such as regulators, customers and employees over the last two years, compared to 46% across all sectors.
Only 30% of the insurance sector executives surveyed said that they have fully considered the ethical and legal implications relating to ESG disclosure and commitments, whereas across all sectors, the figure was slightly higher at 35%.
This comes after insurers were recently warned to prepare for a plethora of biodiversity-related standards and regulations over the next two years, which is set to become the next big ESG challenge for global businesses. M