Individuals can best serve the company, its clients, and customers only if they themselves are taken care of.
Insurance is an industry at the heart of the global economy and a force for good in its own right.
The industry supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and touches on all 17 SDGs, making it one of the few industries to do so.
The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) UK Division’s 2022 Forum on Social Purpose and Inclusion brought together representatives from insurance organizations such as CNA Hardy, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, AXA XL, Chubb, Lloyd’s and EY to promote a more inclusive culture. We focus on creating and promoting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
Forum participants gained new insights, exchanged ideas and discussed the impact of creating a more equitable and inclusive culture on the insurance industry and society.
Below are some of the key points from the forum.
Inclusive individuals promoting an inclusive culture
The first sessions of the day, ‘Role of Insurance in Shaping Social Impact and Inclusion’ and ‘Drive Ideas to Action’, explored how individuals can become more inclusive leaders and colleagues and how inclusion can be implemented within organizations. Lectures focused on how to promote culture.
Simon Rodgers, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Axco, part of Wilmington plc., urged the audience to approach diversity and inclusion as a solution, not as a problem to fix.
Inclusion begins with confidence and belonging. Leaders looking to create an inclusive culture can listen and talk with employees to learn what individuals care about and understand their purpose and how they can best contribute. I need help with that.
If employees feel safe listening, they embrace the culture and contribute to its enhancement.
The speaker explained that diversity is not always visible. Vision Foundation CEO Olivia Curno says about 2 million people are blind in the UK and 73% of her population is unemployed, causing a huge loss to the economy.
By implementing programs such as voice input, large fonts, using Braille for all signs, and investing resources to make the work of the visually impaired easier, we are able to attract candidates from valuable individuals with diverse perspectives. can attract
The final topic covered how building a culture of inclusion and equity can help organizations attract and retain talent.
Paul Krasirnick, People Consulting Director at KPMG UK, considers visible diversity, such as gender, ethnicity and age, as well as eyes such as socioeconomic status, when recruiting potential job seekers. I proposed to consider both invisible diversity and make a decision. A person who has gone missing from a room.
Seeing people in and out of the room can also help attract talent.
He said that by removing barriers for candidates rather than simply helping them overcome challenges, organizations can become more attractive to diverse candidates.
Kirsty Rogers, Global Head of ESG and Managing Partner of the DWF Manchester office, is dedicated to giving individuals purpose, understanding where they fit on the organizational chart, and the company’s commitment to people and the planet.
ESG definition and provision
ESG is a term that has rapidly gained popularity over the past few years, but many organizations still struggle with defining and executing an ESG strategy.
Each session throughout the forum included ESG as a theme, helping attendees better understand how to address ESG and rethink ESG risks and opportunities through a customer lens.
A topic that resonated with many was the idea of human capital and its impact on risk.
Speakers discussed how organizations truly ESG-enabled need to put human capital into the way they measure risk in order to find alternative ways to do business. did.
“Human capital” is a term that refers to personal attributes such as employee knowledge, skills, health, and education that are considered useful in the production process. As a social concept, human capital represents a major risk in a circular economy where everything is connected.
When aspects like education and health struggle, so do innovation and productivity.
As part of any ESG strategy, derisking human capital should start with confidence and belonging. Employees should be nurtured, challenged and supported in authentic ways so that they can grow while expressing themselves.
As The Pipeline co-founder Lorna Fitzsimons said, “Your difference is your superpower.”
Continuing the theme of risk mitigation, speakers discussed how insurers can use ESG strategies to enhance their risk prevention programs.
Nick Martin, fund manager for Polar Capital’s global insurance team, explained how insurers are partnering with nature to create nature-based solutions that mitigate environmental and social risks.
Simple steps, such as planting mangroves to reduce the risk of flooding, are relatively cost effective for insurers to reduce risk while benefiting the environment, as nature-based solutions can contribute to 37% of global CO2 reductions. It’s the easy way, he said.
He said this not only demonstrates good business practices, but also highlights how the industry can be a force for good.
Another theme discussed by the speakers was the importance of the ‘S’ in ESG, the social dimension.
Marsh’s managing director Charles Beresford-Davies says the inclusion of ESG targets starts with an S.
Similarly, it is difficult to achieve E for ESG (Environment) unless people are involved and inspired. And there’s no way to have good governance if your employees aren’t included in their roles.
While different aspects of ESG may seem to tap into different worlds, environmental, social and governance issues are often intertwined. I can’t function well without others.
Detailed information
The industry continues to make progress towards becoming a more inclusive and equitable space, recruiting talent from new areas and investing resources in diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and ESG strategies. , there is still work to be done.
Conversations held at the 2022 IICF Forum on Social Purpose and Inclusion, as well as programs and resources developed by the IICF IDEA Council, will help organizations implement achievable, credible and sustainable strategies. increase.
The IICF is committed to fostering conversations about social purpose, inclusion and leadership by hosting events such as the 2023 Insurance Global Conference June 13-15, 2023 in New York City. , continues to bring the industry together to inspire conversation, action and change. . &
Wendy Wilder
