Connecticut Insurance Department Commissioner Andrew N. Mais announced that Connecticut has joined the United Nation’s Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF), an international group of regulators committed to finding climate change sustainability solutions.

“Climate change is already harming the residents and businesses of Connecticut. As the Insurance Capital of America, Connecticut has a responsibility to strengthen the industry’s understanding of and response to climate change,” said Governor Ned Lamont. “I applaud Commissioner Mais and his outstanding team on their leadership as one of the first U.S. regulators to join the invaluable Sustainable Insurance Forum.”

“I am proud to see Connecticut continue to be a in a leadership role on climate change. It is more critical now than ever before to protect consumers facing increased threats from extreme weather and lack of access to affordable insurance,” said Commissioner Mais.

“I applaud Commissioner Mais and the Connecticut Insurance Department for this recognition and for their continued climate leadership,” said State Senator Matthew Lesser, co-chair of the General Assembly’s Real Estate and Insurance Committee. “Over the last few years, I have been able to support the Department as they make climate stewardship a priority and incorporate climate risk analysis into their supervisory efforts. The Connecticut Insurance Department continues to be a national and international leader in this area.”

“Connecticut proactively joining SIF will help consumers, lawmakers and regulators understand insurance companies' risks and strategies for climate mitigation while addressing the overall impact of climate change,” said State Rep. Kerry Wood, who serves as co-chair of the General Assembly’s Real Estate and Insurance Committee. “It is also imperative to protect consumers' access to affordable insurance, and more uniformity in reporting standards for insurance companies' climate-related risks will help do that.”

Anna Sweeney, Executive Director at the Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England said, “In my capacity as Chair of the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum, I am pleased to welcome the Connecticut Insurance Department as a member of the SIF. Noting the State’s recent work on the climate reporting agenda in conjunction with the NAIC, SIF looks forward to supporting the State’s leadership efforts in this area.”

Commissioner Mais also announced that Connecticut and other members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), a member of SIF, recently adopted a new standard for insurance companies to report their climate-related risks, in alignment with the international Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD standard is the international benchmark and will help regulators and the public to better understand the climate-related risks to the U.S. insurance market, which is the largest in the world.

“These new disclosure standards for reporting insurance companies' climate risks and strategies will help regulators and consumers better understand and address the impacts of climate change,” Commissioner Mais said.

ABOUT THE SIF:

The SIF is the global network of insurance supervisors and regulators which works to address challenges to the sector brought about by the climate change crisis. SIF is the international platform to address sustainability issues impacting consumers, firms, and markets in their jurisdictions, and who have an interest in collaborating with their peers to share knowledge and identify best practices. The goal of the SIF is to achieve a global insurance system where sustainability factors are effectively integrated into the regulation and supervision of insurance companies.

Connecticut joins California, Maryland, New York, Vermont, and Washington state as SIF members along with the NAIC, the US Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO), and many countries around the world to work on sustainability solutions on an international level.

The SIF is sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

The SIF is committed to sharing information and solutions that would help reduce and mitigate the impacts related to climate change. SIF is focusing on three main areas of work: climate-related risk on the insurability of assets, sustainability beyond climate change, and climate risks in actuarial processes.