From: Captive International
Companies and re/insurers in the US are lagging behind the rest of the world on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, according to AM Best.
However, the rating agency pointed out, the US is quickly catching up on ESG issues, especially since the election of President Biden and the subsequent US decision to re-join the Paris Accords.
Speaking at the VCIA conference in Burlington Vermont, Daniel Ryan, senior director at AM Best, said that companies in the US needs to be open-minded in terms of ESG issues. He pointed out that whilst many of these aspects are not regulated at present, they might be at some point in the future, and that US companies need to prepare.
“At the end of the day,” Ryan said, “ESG is an element that all of us are going to have to embrace, understand and move along with in the market. ESG has so many tentacles that could potentially be attached to things that, if you’re not paying attention to it, could be detrimental in the years ahead.”