How Insurers Are Creatively Investing in A Growing Asset Class: Natural Capital

Insurers face increasing regulatory and public pressure to manage climate-related risks through both their underwriting and asset management. Climate change risk goes hand in hand with a less-discussed crisis: the dramatic loss of nature in our lifetimes, including the worldwide reduction in wetlands, forests, and the biodiversity of plants, insects and animals. Humanity has already wiped out 83% of wild mammals and half of all plants and severely altered three-quarters of ice-free land and two-thirds of marine environments, according to the World Economic Forum. The forum’s research shows that $44 trillion of economic value generation – over half the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature. Insurers, who invest trillions of dollars annually, are seeking to allocate their invested assets in ways that can support sustainability, the energy transition, and even nature itself through natural capital. Natural capital includes real asset investments such as forests and farms, where insurers seek to protect the land from development while benefitting from the products produced on the land. Often the investments yield multiple sustainability benefits, including producing environmentally friendly products or clean energy. Join Insurance Insider a free webinar, in partnership with Manulife Investment Management, 10:30 ET/3:30 GMT on Jan 22, as we explore the opportunities and challenges in investing in natural capital. Discussion questions include: --Overview: What is natural capital and what is driving investments in it --Case studies: real life examples of natural capital investments --What are the risks in investing in natural capital? --How to mitigate those risks Panel: Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Manulife Investment Management Hans-Joachim Seyfarth, Head of Illiquid Assets Natural Capital, MEAG Moderator: Meg Green, Senior Editor, Insurance Insider