01 Mar 2021
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) submitted its advice to the European Commission on the mandatory sustainability disclosure of insurers’ and reinsurers’ key performance indicators within the scope of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive.
Relevant, comparable and reliable information on the taxonomy-alignment of financial market participants is decisive for the promotion of the EU’s Green Deal and the allocation of capital to economic activities that foster environmental goals. EIOPA’s advice is a major step to promote high-quality non-financial reporting by European insurance and reinsurance undertakings.
EIOPA proposes requiring two most relevant key performance indicators on sustainability that depict the extent to which:
· the insurer or reinsurer carries out taxonomy-aligned activities - in terms of non-life gross premiums written
· the insurer or reinsurer is funding or financing taxonomy-aligned economic activities - in relation to total investments
EIOPA considers that these key performance indicators on sustainability provide relevant information to financial markets, depicting fairly the insurers’ and reinsurers’ business models, underwriting policies and investments, and allows for comparisons with other financial sectors and non-financial undertakings.
Background
With its technical advice, EIOPA responds to a Call for Advice, addressed to the three European Supervisory Authorities, to support the European Commission developing the definitions and methodologies to be used for the disclosure requirements of Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation.
EIOPA’s advice on the insurers’ non-financial reporting key performance indicators on sustainability benefitted greatly from the stakeholder responses received during the public consultation and the close collaboration with the EBA and ESMA to achieve cross-sectoral consistency and comparability.