Manchester (UK), 16 January 2023: ICMIF members have USD 759 bn of assets under management in investments which are aligned to sustainable investment frameworks, according to the ICMIF Members Sustainable Investment Report 2022 launched by the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) today.

The report’s data shows how the Federation’s members are collectively investing USD 759 billion in sustainable investment frameworks, including green bonds, social bonds and resilience bonds for example; many of which will be targeting climate change and its effects. This represents an increase of 32% from the USD 576 billion collectively invested by members in 2021.

Mutual and cooperative insurers represent almost 30% of the world’s insurance market and USD 10 trillion in assets. The insurance industry is uniquely positioned to assist with delivering climate action as it has both the assets to invest and the in-depth knowledge of the many risks that need to be mitigated both on a macro level and a community level to make people and the planet more resilient.

Shaun Tarbuck, ICMIF CEO said “The ICMIF Members Sustainable Investment Report reveals the results of the 2022 ICMIF Sustainable Investment Framework Survey which are testament to how our members have gone from strength to strength since the inception of this survey in 2019. Our latest findings show continued, solid forward-momentum from the mutual and cooperative insurance sector towards a greener future.”

Tarbuck continued: “It is well-documented that sustainable initiatives improve a company’s financial performance; improve efficiency; reduce costs; and drive change. This allows the business to gain a competitive edge as well as significantly enhance the business’s image to employees, potential employees and other stakeholders such as member policyholders and investors. The cooperative and mutual insurance sector is ideally placed to take a lead in the field of sustainability and sustainable investments to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ and lead by example.

The report highlights the ways in which ICMIF members are continuing to do lead by example in sustainable investments. Cooperatives and mutuals are not driven by short-term decision-making, short-term profits or investor demands. Instead, being owned by member policyholders, they can take a more strategic, longer-term view, doing what’s right socially, environmentally and ethically too.

Key findings:

• ICMIF members confirmed that USD 759 bn of their assets under management (AUM) are investments aligned to sustainable investment frameworks compared to USD 576 bn reported in our 2021 survey – an increase of 32%.
• This alignment of USD 759 bn to sustainable investment frameworks represents 51% of our members’ AUM that responded to the survey, compared to 38% last year.
• There are multiple investment frameworks, but the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Principles for Responsible Investment (UNEP FI PRI) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) were the most popular frameworks.
• Our survey saw 55% of our members invest in impact investing, up from 46% in 2020. Impact investing by ICMIF members has grown by 46% from last year (2021), to USD 15.6 bn.
• Fifty eight percent of members that responded to our survey invest in sustainable bonds including green bonds, social and/or resilience bonds, amounting to USD 16.9 bn compared to USD 12.1 bn in 2021, up 40%.
• Thirty seven percent of ICMIF members have made net-zero commitments, up from 18% last year.
• Seventy five percent of members say they actively report on sustainability in some way.

Click here to download the report.

About ICMIF

The International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) is the global association for cooperative and mutual insurers. As a membership organisation, the Federation’s mission is to help its member companies achieve their strategic goals and sustainably grow in their local markets.

Focusing on the key areas of mutuality, sustainability and business transformation, ICMIF’s networking and business intelligence activities leverage the knowledge, competencies and experience of its global network of member-owned and purpose-led insurance companies across 60 countries. Through its influence work, ICMIF represents the interests of global mutual/cooperative sector – accounting for approximately 26% of the global insurance market – to key stakeholders around the themes of resilience, disaster risk reduction, sustainable development and responsible investing.

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For further information contact: Alison Grant, Communications Manager, International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation: [email protected]