Key Topics ESG Industries Industry & Commerce

Responsible and sustainably secured: New ESG standards in the interests of deas customers

Environmental and social issues shape our professional and private lives. That is why more and more companies are placing a high value on responsible action and sustainable business models. With its newly developed ESG scoring tool, the Ecclesia Group, to which deas belongs, supports its customers in finding an insurer that optimally supports their ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) goals and acts responsibly. This allows insurers to be accurately evaluated based on their performance, enabling the right provider to be selected for the customer. Currently, 50 risk carriers are analyzed according to various ESG criteria. In the future, the rating system will be expanded to include additional insurers.

“Our main task as insurance brokers and risk consultants is to provide our clients with comprehensive advice on known and new risks and to find the best insurer for them, one that offers optimal insurance coverage and thus enables sustainable solutions,” explains Thomas Olaynig. Since July 2024, he has been head of product and portfolio management at the Ecclesia Group, to which deas belongs. As Olaynig explains, one of the insurance broker's tasks is to know the ESG performance of the insurers and to understand how sustainably they are positioned. Transparency and easily comprehensible information play an important role with regard to ESG. In addition, regulatory requirements are essential. A prominent example of this is the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

 

Select sustainable risk carriers

With the implementation of an ESG scoring tool, the Ecclesia Group obtains comprehensive information: from the ecological footprint and responsibility towards internal and external stakeholders to the anchoring of sustainability responsibility in the company. “In addition to an optimal price-performance ratio and fast, contractually compliant and customer-oriented claims processing, our customers expect a certain ESG conformity from insurers. We already offer our customers decision-making aids for many of these factors – and now also in the area of ESG,“ explains Leonhard Ihli. The head of insurer management is in continuous personal contact with insurers on behalf of the Ecclesia Group. ‘The tool helps us to select sustainable risk carriers that both meet the increasing environmental awareness and fit our customers’ ESG strategy,” says Leonhard Ihli.

 

Transparent and objective assessment

The Ecclesia Group relies on the expertise of Zielke Research Consult GmbH for the scoring process. These experts create their ESG rankings exclusively on the basis of publicly available data such as sustainability reports and non-financial statements in accordance with the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). The results enable objective comparisons. “The data obtained is meaningful and of high quality,” explains Leonhard Ihli. Using the ESG scoring tool is a very important step for the Ecclesia Group. By evaluating risk carriers according to ESG criteria, the group of companies can offer future-proof solutions while contributing to a more sustainable economy. Do you have questions about our tool or ESG scoring?
 

Industrial insurance broker deas at the GVNW symposium in Munich

Sandra Dammalacks, Head of Financial Lines/Cyber and responsible for liability, accident and legal expenses in Berlin, discussed current topics such as ESG and challenges of the present and future with insurers and clients at a symposium of the German Association of Insuring Industry (Gesamtverband der versicherungsnehmenden Wirtschaft – GVNW) in Munich. “It is our general goal to achieve the best for our industrial clients, also with regard to the challenge of ESG. We negotiate with insurers who act sustainably and deal with ESG criteria in detail in order to provide our clients with targeted support. When it comes to brands, productions and environmental issues, we focus on resilience and advise industrial companies on all insurance-related topics,” explains Sandra Dammalacks.

In Munich, insurance brokers, insurance companies and insurance buyers from companies – such as Sabine Campe from the chemical company Lanxess – discussed premium discounts and questionnaires, as well as the risks of PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated chemicals), which, according to recent studies, include more than 10,000 different substances. Also in focus: sanction clauses and ESG criteria (Environmental, Social & Governance). “We receive 27 different questionnaires from 27 insurers,” said Sabine Campe, criticizing the amount of time required to deal with sanction clauses.

 

Flexible discussions about premium discounts

Sandra Dammalacks is pleased that deas customers benefit from the group's new ESG scoring tool. This makes it possible to optimally identify suitable insurers as respective contractual partners. The deas expert also analyzed the current situation in the liability segment. “From the broker's point of view, as well as in general, we are currently seeing a stabilization of the market and in some cases even more than that,” said Sandra Dammalacks, taking a positive view of the situation. Premium savings are possible again in some cases. She points to the ‘good combined ratios’ of insurers in the liability sector, which are below 100 percent overall. Sandra Dammalacks: ”When the customer asks about premium discounts, it must be possible to discuss this openly with each other as partners. I expect a certain flexibility on the part of the insurers.” Improvements in the risk dialog between customers and insurers were also discussed. In addition, there was a suggestion that insurers send fewer questionnaires and research their information in a targeted and effective manner in the respective sustainability reports. One piece of good news is that standardized questionnaires could be available in the future via a planned data exchange platform. As GVNW managing director Stefan Rosenowski explained, this would significantly simplify the process of exchanging information.
 

Ferma Forum in Madrid

Sandra Dammalacks is looking forward to the final stretch of 2024 and 2025 with excitement and confidence. She will be traveling to the Ferma Forum in Madrid in the second half of October with two other divisional managers from deas. Around 2,000 risk and insurance experts will be gathering in the Spanish capital for the most important event in the risk management community in Europe. They use the three days of the event to discuss with business partners, to be inspired by the ideas and insights of well-known experts in the industry, and to think specifically about new business opportunities.