The Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero (FIT) has launched a first-of-its-kind transition plan guide tailored for insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios.
The 112-page Underwriting the Transition guide provides insurance market participants—specifically insurers, reinsurers and brokers—with a comprehensive and structured framework to help them develop and disclose credible transition plans for underwriting portfolios, addressing a significant gap in existing transition plan guidance for the insurance industry.
The transition plan guide is second in a series of global guidance by the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) FIT.
UNEP head of insurance and FIT chair Butch Bacani said, “By underwriting with foresight, and by accelerating and scaling up a just transition to a resilient net-zero economy, the insurance industry can lead with purpose and conviction in helping build inclusive, resilient and sustainable communities and economies, and reaffirm its role as society’s risk manager.”
The new guide identifies key elements of a credible transition plan and provides a checklist to assess the credibility of a transition plan. Through real-world examples, the guide demonstrates how leading insurers, reinsurers and brokers are each implementing various concepts and approaches in their underwriting portfolios that support a just transition to a resilient net-zero economy. It also helps insurance market participants navigate a complex and evolving landscape of sustainability disclosure and reporting.
The guide Underwriting the Transition builds on the FIT’s inaugural report, Closing the Gap: The emerging global agenda of transition plans and the need for insurance-specific guidance, which was launched at the 2024 UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The third and final deliverable of the FIT Transition Plan Project will produce holistic, “total balance sheet” transition plan guidance that links the underwriting and investment portfolios of insurance and reinsurance companies.