Geneva Association appoints new board members, joins UN initiative

Industry think tank The Geneva Association has announced the addition of four new members to its Board following a General Assembly, in addition to its decision to join the United Nations Environment Programme-Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI).

The new Board members are: Lard Friese, CEO, Aegon; Xi LUO, Chairman, People’s Insurance Company of China; Hiroshi Shimizu, President and CEO, Nippon Life; and Peter Zaffino, Chairman & CEO, AIG.

During the general assembly, issues under discussion included recent shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, and how these have catalysed institutions to hone their ESG agendas for maximum impact.

For insurers and reinsurers, the Geneva Association says they must now work to increase resilience to climate change, promoting environmental and social sustainability, tackling protection gaps, and promoting individuals’ wellbeing.

“Discussions at our General Assembly revealed that geopolitical tensions, economic volatility, social inequality and climate change are key concerns for us all,” said Christian Mumenthaler, Chairman of The Geneva Association and CEO of Swiss Re.

“I am pleased that The Geneva Association has become a supporting institution of UNEP-FI’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance, reinforcing that sustainability – the E, the S, and the G – is a central issue for the industry,” he continued.

“I also warmly welcome Lard Friese, Xi LUO, Hiroshi Shimizu and Peter Zaffino to the Geneva Association Board of Directors. As representatives of Europe, China, Japan and the United States, their views will be instrumental to ensuring our agenda captures the priorities of insurers around the globe.”

Jad Ariss, Managing Director of The Geneva Association, also commented: “The challenges before us, as an industry and as a society, require coordinated thinking and action. Our annual meeting was a powerful platform for 57 of our member CEOs around the world to align, particularly on their social and environmental ambitions. Sustainability is clearly the dominant priority for insurance companies and their customers today. We are proud to become a supporting institution to the UNEP-FI PSI.”

Source: Reinsurance News, Geneva Association appoints new board members, joins UN initiative - Reinsurance News