ESG

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Sustainability in Insurance

The expertise in underwriting and risk management makes insurers strategic players in the sustainability agenda. Furthermore, the industry's capacity to generate resources through technical reserves becomes an important tool for enabling sustainable investments. As one of the largest institutional investors in the country, holding assets equivalent to 25% of Brazil's public debt, the insurance sector has the resources and interest in investing in recognized "green" or "impact" assets.

CNseg's Role

The issue of sustainability in insurance has permanent institutional support at CNseg. The Confederation is committed to promoting the sustainable development of the insurance sector and raising awareness among relevant society actors about the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects.

CNseg's actions are based on the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), which are the main international reference in the insurance sector regarding ESG aspects. The Confederation is a founding and supporting institution of these Principles, which were launched by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (Unep FI) at the Rio+20 Conference in 2012. CNseg's main tasks related to the topic include leading discussions and positioning the sector on the subject, sharing and encouraging the adoption of best practices among companies, implementing projects aimed at the technical training of insurance representatives, monitoring points that may affect the sector's reputational capital, and contributing to the formulation of public policies and guidelines that encourage the country's sustainable development.

Check here the timeline with the highlights of CNseg's main initiatives over the years.

Environmental

Environmental issues, especially those related to climate change, are of significant relevance to the insurance sector. The increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters, changes in climatic and rainfall patterns, and the proliferation of diseases caused by pollutant concentrations, for example, have a potential impact on the sector's loss ratio. In addition to operational impacts, there are also reputational and legal risks in the event of co-responsibility of insurers for failures in managing environmental and climate risks.

In this sense, CNseg has established a commitment agenda and initiatives aimed at integrating the consideration of environmental and climate issues throughout the insurance value chain. The main projects in this sphere are related to training the sector to build tools and methodologies that support the underwriting, pricing, and management of environmental and climate risks and to establish commitments to position the insurance sector towards a low-carbon economy.

Social

Financial education, diversity, equity and inclusion, and inclusive insurance aimed at low-income and vulnerable populations are among the topics that make up the Social sphere of the ESG triad. Over the years, the Confederation has established itself as an important reference for the debate and maturation of these topics within companies.

The Insurance Education program launched in 2016, consisting of 21 initiatives, aims to bring structured knowledge and qualified and comprehensible information to society about the insurance sector. Projects related to combating gender inequality, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and unconscious biases are permanent agenda items of CNseg's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission, composed of market representatives who seek to improve practices and processes of companies on DEI. The development of inclusive insurance by companies is discussed in a specific thematic Commission that mainly seeks to analyze and adapt international experiences, suggesting improvements in sector regulations to increase insurance participation among the most vulnerable layers of the population.

Governance

To ensure the operationalization of key sustainability issues, as well as their integration into strategic business spheres, it is necessary to structure governance-related aspects. Ensuring transparency, ethics, and responsibility in operations and reporting, combating corruption and fraud, and safeguarding policyholders' rights are guiding commitments of this agenda.

As a regulated sector, CNseg aims to ensure the regulatory compliance of the sector and strengthen the industry's performance through the sharing of best practices and processes aligned with the concerns and expectations of all stakeholders. The Brazilian Private Insurance Superintendence Circular No. 666/2022 (Susep No. 666/2022) defined governance requirements for companies to promote the integration of sustainability aspects throughout the insurance value chain. According to the Circular, sustainability aspects include:

I - Respect and protection of fundamental rights and guarantees and common interests;
II - Environmental preservation and its repair, or, where possible, restoration;
III - Reducing the impacts caused by frequent and severe weather events or long-term environmental changes;
IV - Transition to a low-carbon economy; and
V - Promoting a more resilient and inclusive society.

References  (in portuguese)

• Circular Susep nº 666/2022 – Requisitos de sustentabilidade a serem observados pelo setor
• Princípios para Sustentabilidade em Seguros (PSI)
• Gerenciamento de riscos ambientais, sociais e de governança em negócios de seguros de ramos elementares
• Gerenciamento de riscos ambientais, sociais e de governança em negócios de seguros Vida e de Saúde (Disponível apenas em inglês)
• Emissões de GEE associadas às carteiras de subscrição (PCAF & PSI) (Disponível apenas em inglês)
• Insuring the climate transition – The final report on the project of UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative to pilot the TCFD recommendations (Disponível apenas em inglês)
• Laboratório de Inovação Financeira (CVM)
• Investidores pelo Clima (IPC)
• Federação Brasileira de Bancos (Febraban)
• Associação Brasileira das Entidades dos Mercados Financeiro e de Capitais (Anbima)