PRESS RELEASE: UNDP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum issues its latest reports on the integration of climate considerations into insurance supervisory and capital frameworks
New York, 31 March 2025 – The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) released two reports today that provide a comprehensive overview of how insurance supervisors around the world are integrating climate-related risks into supervisory frameworks and regulatory capital requirements.
Drawing from separate surveys conducted in late 2023 and 2024 among 30 and 31 SIF member jurisdictions respectively—representing over 80% of SIF’s global membership—the reports offer in-depth analysis of regulatory approaches and evolving best practices. The findings are further enriched with case studies and insights from members and international supervisory bodies.
The reports confirm a strong recognition among regulators of the financial risks posed by climate change, and are taking steps to address them:
- Most surveyed insurance supervisors already consider climate-related risks in their supervisory activities.
- A majority of insurance supervisors have incorporated climate risks into regulatory capital frameworks—although implementation challenges and gaps remain.
Key insights include:
- A majority of respondents reported that insurers have incorporated climate scenario analysis or climate stress testing into their Own Risk and Solvency Assessments (ORSAs) or equivalent regulatory processes.
- Physical and transition risks dominate insurers’ climate risk assessments, while litigation risk was to date less frequently considered.
- Regulators face common challenges in adapting capital add-on frameworks to explicitly account for climate-related risks, including limited historical climate risk data, internal technical capacity, and the lack of established global methodologies.
Looking ahead, the reports call for coordinated global efforts to:
- Expand the availability and quality of climate risk data,
- Build supervisory expertise and institutional capacity,
- Enhance the use of climate scenarios and stress-testing tools, and
- Consider prudent, evidence-based adjustments to regulatory capital frameworks.
Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support stated, “These reports are a timely call for global collaboration. They chart a path toward cohesive, forward-looking regulation that equips insurers and supervisors to confront climate risks and collectively shape a more sustainable financial future.”
Daniel Wang, Chair of the Sustainable Insurance Forum and Executive Director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, added: “As climate risks impact the financial system, these reports offer regulators guidance to build a more stable, resilient, and sustainable insurance sector. By showcasing innovative approaches and practical case studies, they are useful references for embedding sustainability into insurance supervision and capital requirements.”
To read the reports, please visit the following links:
SIF Overarching Note for CSWG Reports
Integration of Climate-related Risks within Insurance Supervisory Frameworks
Integration of Climate-related Risks in Insurance Regulatory Capital Frameworks
About UNDP: UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP.
About UNDP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF)
Established by the UN with the support of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) in December 2016, UNDP’s Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF) is a global network of 38 insurance supervisors and regulators, overseeing 92% of the global insurance market. This collaborative network aims to address sustainability and climate change issues impacting insurance companies and markets, and policy holders in their jurisdictions. The SIF Secretariat is hosted by the UNDP.
Learn more at sustainableinsuranceforum.org or follow on LinkedIn: UNDP Sustainable Insurance Forum
Press Contact:
Ayesha Babar
Head of Strategic Coordination and Communications, UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub
Ayesha.babar@undp.org
