Legal Implications of Climate Change and ESG Reporting on Insurance Policies

Abstract

The paper examines what is a complex development between climate change, the emerging Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting policies and the legal consequence of the same in the profoundly integrated insurance business in India. It also examines the effect of these forces in driving the necessity of reconsidering risk assessment, policy underwriting and the overall regulatory structure that is relevant within the Indian insurers particularly in a context of global sustainability initiatives and domestic case law trends. The increased frequency and severity of climate-related events are also a part of situations discussed in the paper which is prompting insurers to consider ESG as a core operation that affects policy formulation and underwriting strategies to respond to the emerging risk and opportunities that are obviously emerging. Such integration is significant as the stakeholders pressuring insurers to act with seriousness towards the growing ESG risks that do not only represent the impact of climate change but also other societal risks, including inequality and the risk of governance, such as fraud. Such an intensive survey should be aimed at analyzing the legal grounds that are slowly forcing the ESG integration in the Indian insurance landscape, both nationally and devotion to the global reporting standards.