Captives sign up to the UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance

Butch Bacani, programme leader for the UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance initiative, has been working closely with the captive market over the past 18 months to raise awareness of the PSI and how it can apply to captives.

There are now 220 insurance organisations signed up to the PSI, with the insurers representing one-third of global premium and $15 trillion of assets under management.

The UN partnered with Aon at the end of 2022 to publish a white paper titled Using a Captive Insurance Company to Drive Positive ESG Outcomes.

International SOS, the health and security service firm, is the latest to make the move, with Franck Baron, the company’s group deputy director of risk management and insurance, announcing on 22 March that its Singapore captive, Odeon Insurance Re Pte Ltd, had become a signatory.

“We commit to help build more resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies,” Baron said.

“By applying the global framework to our business activities, we will be able to better address environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities.”

The first captive to become a signatory to the PSI was Enel Insurance N.V., the Netherlands-domiciled captive owned by Italian energy multinational Enel. Enel Insurance signed up in 2022.

In February 2023, Switzerland-domiciled Sonepar International Re became the second captive signatory.

Sonepar is an independent family-owned French multinational providing business-to-business distribution of electrical products, solutions and related services.

François Beaume, vice president for risks and insurance at Sonepar, said: “Being a member of the PSI initiative reinforces our position as a leading pioneer of the energy transition, by leveraging risk management and insurance, and operating with complete integrity.”