Investors are increasingly asking insurers about environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices and how they are being managed, Intact Financial Corporation’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, Louis Marcotte, said recently.
“In some cases, when we meet investors, they actually have an ESG expert in the meeting asking specific questions — and some tougher than others,” Marcotte said last week during the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association’s CFO panel discussion, presented by PwC.
“And recently, with our proposed acquisition of RSA, some investors were asking what were the ESG considerations that we took into account while looking at the acquisition. So, it’s a live topic and I think because of that, it will drive some of the reporting that happens in the future.”
The panel discussed a variety of topics, including ESG, cyber, industry trends, IFRS 17, and the impact of COVID-19 on the industry. Regarding ESG, Marcotte said it’s evident ESG is gaining momentum, whether through internal or external conversations.
“We actually believe that the expectations of businesses have quite changed, in fact,” Marcotte said. “Today, we’re expected to be not only influencers of change, but rather forces of sustainable change. It’s putting the bar way higher than where it was before, and [this is] largely driven by the expectations of Millennials.”