Sustainability for the insurance industry

Can insurance agencies be proactive community partners or is it all hot air?

By Renee Meyer, UP FOR GOOD member

Just this week, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a $9.7 billion bill to pay flood insurance claims from Superstorm Sandy that devastated northeastern states last October. Total economic damage is estimated by EQECAT, a company specializing in catastrophe modeling, to be $30-50 billion.

Who will pay the difference? How do large-scale disasters affect the overall economy? How do these disasters affect the bottom line in the insurance industry? Sandy has brought these questions to the forefront.

UP FOR GOOD believes that companies in the insurance industry can help find solutions. We see a huge opportunity for the insurance industry to better prepare for and address issues such as climate change and social imbalances by starting a dialog with stakeholders. Insurance companies, together with their clients, governments, communities, business partners and company shareholders can, and should, work together to find solutions that benefit everyone while leading to a more sustainable future.

UP FOR GOOD is focused on helping companies who are sincere about making a difference, turn their ideas into action. These actions can subsequently be integrated into business and sustainability strategies. And the communication of these strategies is vital.

We’ll explore some possible solutions in the next blog…