Public Engagement Report Q3 2024

With insurance losses from hurricanes Milton and Helene expected to run into the billions, and extensive flooding across Central and Eastern Europe again this year, physical climate risk can no longer be ignored. As a result, insurers are withdrawing from certain markets, because the probability of loss is deemed too high. In other areas, premiums have shot up, squeezing householders and small business owners.

In EOS’s Q3 2024 Public Engagement Report, engagers Michael Yamoah, Navishka Pandit and Judi Tseng look at the consequences of ballooning losses and why central banks and market regulators have expressed concern about transmission risk. “As reinsurers raise rates, some insurers have had to exit certain markets, leaving businesses and households with the unenviable choice of costly coverage or none at all,” they state.

EOS engages with global insurance companies to understand the climate-related risks and opportunities they face, as well as their strategies for addressing these over different time horizons. EOS asks insurers to demonstrate how they embed climate-related considerations into their product design and pricing, as well as their capital adequacy decisions.

At the other end of the scale, unchecked extraction of water for industrial purposes in regions of water scarcity can create problems for local communities. In a separate article, Joanne Beatty and George Watson explain how we engage with companies on water management to address these concerns. They set out EOS’s expectations of companies and highlight some engagements in key sectors, such as food and beverage, apparel, chemicals and fertilisers, and mining.  

Also in this issue, as EOS celebrates its 20^th anniversary, Amy D’Eugenio reports on the findings of a survey assessing how the stewardship landscape has changed since EOS was formed, and how it might evolve over the next two decades. She explores some of the stewardship challenges of today and engagers’ hopes for 2044.

Finally, Shoa Hirosato identifies the key trends from the 2024 voting season in developed Asia and emerging markets, assessing progress on board independence and diversity, and climate-related risk. 

To find out more, read the EOS Q3 Public Engagement Report.