The Geneva Association and the International Insurance Society (“IIS”) have awarded the 2019 Shin Research Excellence Award to the research team of Alexander Braun, Sebastian Utz, and Jiahua Xu, hailing from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, for their paper “Are Insurance Balance Sheets Carbon-Neutral? Harnessing Asset Pricing for Climate-Change Policy.”
In a statement, the Geneva Association and the IIS said that the winning research illustrated the potential impact of the insurance industry to counter climate change by redirecting major capital flows associated with its investment and underwriting businesses towards carbon-neutral activities. The study outlined a two-pronged approach, designed to incentivize carbon-neutral activities, to examining and categorizing carbon exposures in investment portfolios in line with complementary regulatory reforms mandating disclosures.
The Shin Research Excellence Award was established to promote practically oriented, applied research in the fields of insurance and risk management. The program, endowed by Kyobo Life Insurance Company and chaired by Blue Marble Microinsurance's chief executive officer, Dr. Joan Lamm-Tennant, fosters original research that is reviewed by a panel of insurance experts and industry scholars.
The winning paper will be presented during the IIS Global Insurance Forum in Singapore, taking place on June 18-21, to more than 500 senior insurance leaders from around the world. It also will be published in The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance—Issues and Practice and distributed by the IIS and The Geneva Association.
Jad Ariss, secretary general of The Geneva Association, said, “Climate change is the most urgent environmental threat the world faces and insurers play a crucial role in promoting risk mitigation measures. Moreover, the transition to a low-carbon economy can be accelerated by the industry's risk assessment expertise and long-term investment practices. Insurance can – and should be – a force for good, and the winning paper provides compelling evidence.”
“The insurance industry has long been a catalyst for identifying and implementing systemic measures that yield positive results for society,” said Mike Morrissey, the IIS's president and chief executive officer. “This research illustrates our industry's capacity to identify and address mechanisms that drive far-reaching impact, while paving the way for others to pivot their resources towards tackling this universal challenge.”
“The Shin Research program is designed to stimulate practical research that advances the insurance industry,” added Dr. Lamm-Tennant. “The focus of the 2019 Shin Research goes above and beyond that objective by inspiring a comprehensive, enterprise-wide response to one of the greatest threats facing society today.”
Learn more: Internationalinsurance.org; http://www.genevaassociation.org.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].