The ESG standard for climate adaptation to be developed focuses on measures that help limit damage caused by, for example, drought and heavy precipitation. This allows insurers to estimate what extreme weather means for their risks and costs. Because the subject is complex, the sector is starting with an exploration. The board of the Dutch Association of Insurers recently gave an agreement for this. This exploration should clarify exactly what the standard should include and how it will be structured.
Improving existing standards
In addition, the Association is working with the sector to improve the existing ESG standards for private home contents insurance and business vehicles. And a new standard for construction insurance for contractors, Construction All Risk (CAR). These standards ensure that insurers measure and report in the same way. This makes it easier to compare their performance, for example on the CO₂ emissions of the activities they insure, such as homes, cars and businesses. It helps both insurers and their customers to make better choices.
Why Need It
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to report transparently on sustainability themes. For insurers, this means that they must report on how sustainable their insurance portfolios are, among other things. The purpose of this is to prevent each insurer from working with its own definitions and calculation methods. The ESG standards provide unambiguous and comparable figures, a level playing field within the sector, and give customers and regulators more insight into how insurers score on sustainability.
The progress
The ESG-CSRD-program within the insurance sector started in 2025. There are now standards for personal car insurance, personal building insurance and insurance for road transport, among other things. These were approved in March 2026 and can now be used by insurers when preparing sustainability reports.
Positive reactions to Dutch approach
The exploration of the theme of climate adaptation should lead to a proposal for a new standard. Through Insurance Europe, the umbrella organisation for European insurers, Belgium, France, England and the Czech Republic have shown interest in the Dutch approach.
And the Dutch Autority for the Financial Markets (AFM) is positive about the development of standards:
'... for example, on the theme of sustainable damage repair and with the introduction of standards to measure the CO2 emissions of their portfolio. This can lead to reliable, easily comparable measurements and a uniform interpretation of certain concepts. The AFM therefore encourages the sector to continue to set up and implement such initiatives.'