2022 Focus Series: ESG: The Companies Speak - Insights from Conning’s ESG Survey of Insurers 2022
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) remains a top-of-mind topic among insurance management and stakeholders. This report summarizes the findings of a survey of insurance decision-makers that Conning conducted in late 2021.
The survey focused on three areas:
- The factors influencing ESG engagement by insurance management teams
- How ESG is affecting investment decision making
- How insurers are integrating ESG into their operations.
This survey is a valuable source of insights into the attitudes and actions of key insurance personnel regarding ESG. Those insights can help other management teams as they consider how and to what extent they want to integrate ESG into their own companies.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Survey Key Takeaways and Observations
- U.S. Insurers Rapidly Adding ESG Factors to Investment Practices
Internal and External Factors Shaping ESG Engagement
- ESG Engagement has Increased Significantly
- Factors Influencing ESG Engagement
- Factors Playing into ESG Engagement
- Various Stakeholders Wield Significant Influence
Alignment in Applying ESG Principles to Investments
- Much Progress on ESG Investment Integration in the Past Two Years
- Assessing the Impact of Applying ESG Principles to Investments
- Inflation Tops the List of Concerns
Much More Variation in Applying ESG to Operations
- Larger Companies are Leading the Way
- Changes at Companies Other than Investments: DEI Leads the Way
- Companies Report at Several Different ESG Standards
- Carbon Commands the Focus for Environmental Issues
- Property-Casualty Companies Under Pressure to Stop Insuring Carbon
Appendix: Survey Methods and Demographics of Respondents
Introduction
This report is the fifth in a series that Conning released in 2021 and 2022 that examines how the insurance industry is integrating ESG concerns into its operations and reporting.