ESG at Aeolus
“Assessing the impact of climate risk has been at the center of what we do since our inception. This will continue as we enhance our understanding of the effects of climate change, and the impact that it will have in the most catastrophe-exposed parts of the world.”
Andrew Bernstein Chief Executive Officer and Head of Portfolio Management
We believe the gap between insured and uninsured assets continues to widen. At the same time, in both emerging and developed economies, more property is being built in areas exposed to natural catastrophic risks, further increasing the need for insurance and reinsurance protection.
At Aeolus, we recognize that by providing protection against these risks, the reinsurance industry plays a pivotal role in enabling and driving sustainable societal development: enhancing societies’ resilience to catastrophic events, speeding up the recovery for those affected, providing stability to enable financial support and fostering the development of improved risk understanding and risk management practices.
Our Role in ESG
Environmental, social and governance factors are of significant importance to us.
We strive to be a world-class manager of property catastrophe risk as measured by service, quality and returns. Our strong belief is that the risk-adjusted returns sought by our investors can only be achieved over the long-term if all investment risks are well understood and appropriately managed, including ESG risks.
Enhance Resilience
Promote risk management and adaptation to reduce event-driven losses and stranded asset risk
Provide Stability
Provide confidence and stability, supporting and strengthening broader economic activity
Speed Recovery
Enable timely reconstruction and recovery after a catastrophic event
Develop Expertise
Act as a hub for developing risk management expertise to apply in other disciplines
Our Principles and ESG Oversight
Four key principles underlie our approach and reinforce our commitment to strong corporate governance, the management of environmental risks and making a positive societal impact:
Active portfolio management, supported by market-leading catastrophe risk analytics and data driven ESG risk assessments
2.
Responsible stewardship of investors’ capital
3.
Reputation for financial strength and claims payment record
4.
Responsible business practices across our operations
Combined with our pivotal role in the risk-transfer value chain, commitment to these principles underlies our general support for global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Alignment of Aeolus investments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Independent ESG Assessment
Contract-Level Risk Assessment
Cutting-edge analytical capabilities support and inform the proprietary Aeolus view of risk, which we believe is more complete than that of the market standard industry models and is able to incorporate relevant research through annual model updates. During the underwriting process, we produce in-depth climatological and seismological risk assessments of each individual contract to inform contract structure, selection and pricing.
Portfolio Data Analytics
Further detailed climate change related stress-tests and broader counterparty-level ESG and KYC assessments deliver an in-depth view of risk to the portfolios we manage. This is supported by market leading third-party data and analytics and our dedicated in-house research function, led by Dr. Peter Dailey, a renowned expert in climate catastrophe model development and analytics.
Our ESG Governance Structure
Chaired by Stephen Moss (Head of Investor Analytics), with Frank Fischer (Partner, Chief Analytics Officer and member of our Board of Directors) acting as the executive sponsor, ESG-related activities are overseen by our ESG Committee. The ESG Committee includes members of our senior management team and representatives from key internal departments: Portfolio Management, Analytics, Operations, Research, Finance, Legal and Compliance and Business Development and Investor Relations.
Our principles, and the structures and activities that support them, are detailed within our ESG Policy which is available to all investors upon request.
If you are an investor and wish to request a copy of our ESG Policy, please reach out to us.
Supporting Our Community
Through its Charitable Giving Committee, Aeolus provides support to charities in the local community. With a focus on environmental and societal initiatives, Aeolus works with highly-respected organizations to improve sustainability, environmental awareness and social cohesion in Bermuda.
To learn more about our Charitable Giving Committee and the charities across Bermuda that we support please reach out to us.