Consultation on the SIF-IAIS Issues Paper on TCFD Implementation in Insurance

The webinar be jointly carried out by the PSI and UNEP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum for Supervisors (SIF) and supported by the Basel-based International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Within the insurance supervisory community, the SIF has pioneered efforts to share knowledge on activities that can strengthen assessment of potential climate risks facing insurance markets and the oversight of such risks through supervisory practices. Supported by UNEP, the SIF has worked closely the IAIS to deliver resources at the global level.

In June 2018, the SIF and the IAIS released a joint Issues Paper on Climate Change Risks to the Insurance Sector (“2018 Issues Paper”). As the first analysis of climate change risk by an international standard setting body, the 2018 Issues Paper provided an overview of how climate change is affecting the insurance sector, and concluded that climate risks warrant ongoing and intensifying scrutiny by supervisors. This paper recognized the importance of the Recommendations of the FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as a voluntary framework with relevance for supervisory objectives.

Over the course of 2019, the number of financial institutions expressing support for the TCFD Framework has surged – however, there has been no comprehensive assessment of climate risk awareness across the insurance industry, or how the disclosure practices of firms vary across market segments.

Recognizing this gap, the SIF decided to conduct an assessment of disclosure practices as a follow up to its actions in 2018.

This PSI-SIF global webinar is a consultation on the draft  “Issues Paper” produced by the SIF and the IAIS and published today on TCFD implementation within the insurance industry.

It draws on the results of a coordinated global survey in 15 jurisdictions, gathering responses from nearly 1200 insurers, the paper assesses the state of play across jurisdictions, and provides a set options for supervisory action, based on case studies from supervisors in eight jurisdictions, assesses the state of play on TCFD implementation across jurisdictions and provides options for supervisory action.

The draft Issues Paper on TCFD Implementation will be open for public consultation until 5 February 2020. Recognizing the speed at which supervisory practices relating to climate risk are evolving, both within individual jurisdictions and through the activities of coalitions, the SIF and the IAIS are seeking to engage with interested stakeholders to gather feedback on the Issues Paper’s findings, options, and conclusions.