IAG Joins UN’s Net-Zero Insurance Alliance

IAG has joined the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) as part of its overall commitment to achieving net zero.

Nick Hawkins, Managing Director and CEO of IAG, said weather and climate are “core business” for the company and for nearly two decades it has worked to understand climate change, the impact on its business, and how IAG can help reduce climate risk for customers and communities.

“As a business we are committed to reaching net zero by 2050. We are excited to join the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance and be involved in developing the methodologies and strategies to achieve this through our underwriting portfolio and work towards a net-zero future,” Hawkins said.

According to IAG, joining the NZIA supports the company’s “Driving to Zero focus area” outlined in its Climate and Disaster Resilience Action Plan. This includes delivering on IAG’s commitment to leverage its underwriting and investment approach to drive net-zero emissions. The company has a target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 across its value chain, with an intermediate target of a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

“As no methodology currently exists to measure and disclose net zero Scope 3 emissions relating to customers’ insured assets, by participating in the NZIA, IAG will work with the world’s leading insurers to develop industry-appropriate methodologies and strategies to support a just transition to net zero,” the company said.

“IAG has been a carbon neutral business in relation to its Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2012, and it has intermediate targets to align its investment portfolio to net-zero emissions by 2050.”

As an NZIA member, IAG said it joins 28 other insurers globally, which represents close to 15 per cent of the world’s premium volume. NZIA members aim to transition their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, consistent with a maximum global temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, in alignment with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.