ZURICH, 21 November 2023 – The world has experienced significant turbulence over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and global economic slowdown in quick succession have highlighted the fragility of our world order and the hazards inherent in an increasingly interconnected world.
The word of the week at the World Economic Forum in Davos was polycrisis. Speakers explored the interconnected nature of risk, from inflation to ageing populations, and the role insurers play in building resilience.
Here’s what we heard from António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General; Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund; Roy Gori, CEO & President, Manulife & Lard Friese, CEO & Chairman of the Executive Board, Aegon.
The effects of inflation, from price instability to the erosion of purchasing power and savings, are top of mind for households and businesses and affect perceptions of and expectations from insurance.
This 60-second video sums up our report by Kai-Uwe Schanz and Pieralberto Treccani on how insurers can respond to the challenge of inflation and continue to provide value to their customers.
By increasing resilience to financial shocks and helping people and businesses manage risk, insurance already has a huge, positive social impact. Find out how these benefits can be extended in our social sustainability report.
Amid growing stakeholder expectations for businesses to have more social impact, a new Geneva Association report, The Role of Insurance in Promoting Social Sustainability, highlights insurance’s abundant, inherent social benefit in providing financial stability and peace of mind to people and businesses.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become integral to insurance business models and strategies. Though focus has mainly been on the ‘E’ and ‘G’ dimensions until now, crises such as the Ukraine war and the pandemic have contributed to shifting attention to social sustainability. This report explores how insurers can extend their inherent social utility to better address the ‘S’ dimension of ESG.
