The insurance industry is increasing its application of ESG factors according to a report by Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

In its latest insurance report, “Ready, Set, Reset”, GSAM says ESG as an investment consideration has grown strongly in the past few years in the industry. In a survey of insurers, 79% say ESG is now a consideration, up from 32% in 2017. Asia Pacific and Europe have seen the biggest increases in the implementation of ESG in portfolios,

Insurers said that portfolio risk mitigation is one of the major reasons for adoption of ESG with Asia Pacific insurers saying that shareholder and creditor considerations is also a important factor in implementation. Almost all those surveyed said that access to reliable, standardized ESG data is the biggest challenge to ESG adoption.