Guernsey insurance industry signs up to UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance initiative

The Guernsey International Insurance Association (GIIA) has signed up to the United Nations’ Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) initiative, as part of its commitment to the development of green and sustainable finance.

PSI serves as a global framework for the insurance industry to address environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities.

Last year, Guernsey Green Finance (GGF) and GIIA set out a strategic view on ways to develop green insurance products in the island, in a response to a discussion paper from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

GIIA Chairman Mike Johns said the move demonstrates Guernsey’s insurance sector’s commitment to the green and sustainable agenda. “This aligns with our commitment to develop bespoke products and services to cater for this growing market,” he said.

Andy Sloan, chair of GGF, said the development was an opportunity to further drive the widespread adoption of sustainable finance across the insurance sector.

“The participation of the insurance sector is key to ensuring we become the leading jurisdiction for green finance in Europe,” he said. “This is possible given the unique breadth of our island as a specialist financial services sector.”

Guernsey Finance is also hosting an ILS Insight webinar on July 2 that will discuss green and sustainable finance in the insurance-linked securities sector and its role in ESG. The webinar will also examine the role ILS can play in the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of Brexit.

The panel will be moderated by Steve Britton, managing director of global ILS management at Aon. Hector Ibarra, chief executive at Global Parametrics, Jutta Kath, head of transaction management at Schroder Secquaero, Richard Sharp, partner at Bedell Cristin and Adele Gale, head of ILS at Robus Group will also be on the panel.