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The Next Storm: How ESG Risks are Reconfiguring the Insurance Industry
Feb 28, 2011
The 2008 US bailout of American International Group underscored the ties between the insurance sector and the health of the global economy. AIG was granted then-unprecedented access to US Treasury funds, and subjected to a government-led management overhaul.
And yet, in 2011, AIG’s management delayed a planned repayment of government funds to bolster reserves in the face of unexpected losses. If a firm that has been a ward of the state for years is still uncovering ugly new surprises, then how can private investors gauge how much risk is hidden inside other “too big to fail” multi-line insurance giants?
To uncover potential risk and opportunity in major multi-line insurance firms, the MSCI ESG Research team has developed a series of innovative metrics. A January 2011 industry report applies this methodology to 28 global multi-line insurers, plus 4 major insurance brokerage firms.