As institutional investors, insurers make an important contribution to strengthening the Dutch economy through, among other things, government bonds (from governments) and companies (via corporate bonds and shares). In addition, insurers can address and tackle international abuses through their investment policy and contribute to the Climate Agreement. And they do. By paying attention to sustainable and socially responsible investments, insurers contribute where possible to combating climate change, human rights violations, child labour, and so on. Of course, they do keep an eye on the return interest of the policyholder.
IRBC Covenant
IRBC Covenant Insurance Sector
The sector has had the Sustainable Investment Code since 2012. In 2018, this code was thoroughly updated through the IRBC Insurance Sector Covenant in consultation with governments, civil society organisations and trade unions. On 5 July, the Association signed the covenant on behalf of all its affiliated insurers and Dutch health insurers. Through the covenant, insurers try to prevent, reduce and, if necessary, recover from the negative impact of their investments as much as possible. The covenant has now ended after a period of five years, on 5 July 2023.
Useful tools for insurers
During the term of the covenant, the insurers, NGOs and governments involved have developed tools and guidelines . These tools help insurers to make their investment policy more sustainable on the basis of ESG themes based on due diligence.
New action plan
The five-year focus on the investment policy forms a solid basis for complying with future IRBC legislation and for further cooperation. The parties involved would like to build on this. That is why discussions are taking place about this future cooperation. The proposed new approach runs parallel to the continued focus on responsible investment. The focus is on complying with international guidelines for responsible investment policy (the basis in order), new (European) laws and regulations for responsible investment and the implementation of the investment policy via asset managers.
For more information: see the covenant website IRBC Covenant Insurance Sector
