Sustainability and insurance: Leadership in a time of global uncertainty

A few years ago, sustainability was largely confined to policy statements and long-term aspirations. Today, it has moved into boardrooms, underwriting committees and investment decisions.

For Africa’s insurance industry, this shift has been accelerated by lived experience; droughts that disrupt livelihoods, floods that damage infrastructure, rising energy needs and growing pressure on public finances.

In this context, sustainability is now a strategic necessity.

This urgency is unfolding against a rapidly changing global backdrop. The international development landscape is being reshaped by fiscal pressures, geopolitical realignments, and shifting priorities in major economies.

African insurers, regulators and policymakers increasingly recognise that waiting for global certainty is not an option, and their response has been to lead.

Climate risks are already embedded in our economies, and the cost of inaction is rising. As long-term risk managers and custodians of capital, insurers have a unique role to play in shaping how African economies adapt, grow, and invest.

In response to these challenges, the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainability Insurance (NDSI) was formally launched at the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) PSI (Principles for Sustainable Insurance) 4th Africa summit in April 2021 by UnepFI alongside ICEA Lion.

The NDSI is a declaration of commitment by the African insurance industry leaders to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as an endeavour to integrate ESG into their operations.

Today, the NDSI signatories cover 275 members from 38 countries across the continent.

This leadership is becoming tangible. Through NDSI, African insurers are collectively demonstrating that sustainability is not merely an external obligation, but a core business consideration.

Today, member institutions collectively manage approximately $342 billion (Sh44.46 trillion) in assets under management. Of this, around 15 per cent, roughly $52 billion (Sh6.76 trillion), is already linked to ESG-aligned investments.

These figures point to real progress, but they also reveal the scale of opportunity: a substantial pool of domestic, long-term capital that can be channelled toward climate-resilient infrastructure, clean energy, inclusive finance and sustainable urban development.

NDSI held its inaugural Africa Sustainable Insurance Summit (ASIS) in 2025 in Accra, Ghana. It was an opportunity to bring together the members from across the continent to collectively address their needs.

The second summit is due to take place in Cape Town, from February 4th to 6th, 2026, and is already well enrolled with a group of diversified institutional attendees.

As climate and development risks intensify, the question is no longer whether insurers should engage with sustainability, but how effectively they do so. This is where innovation becomes critical.

ICEA Lion Group, as a founding member of NDSI, is at the forefront of this. Our participation in the development of the Geothermal Well Output Insurance Product reflects a practical response.

By helping de-risk early-stage geothermal projects, insurers can unlock private capital for clean energy, strengthen energy security, and reduce long-term exposure to fossil fuel volatility.

By underwriting a portion of this risk, we are demonstrating that African insurers can play a direct role in enabling the energy transition as active market participants.

Across the continent, similar innovations are emerging: climate-risk covers for agriculture, parametric insurance for floods and droughts, and risk solutions for renewable energy and resilient infrastructure.

These efforts reflect a broader realisation that sustainability, when embedded in product design and underwriting, can open new markets whilst strengthening resilience.

In an increasingly fragmented global environment, collaboration has become a strategic imperative. African insurers are working more closely with regulators, development finance institutions, reinsurers, and peers to build markets that are credible, transparent, and fit for purpose.

NDSI’s growth, from just eight founding signatories in 2021 to a continent-wide movement, demonstrates the power of collective action in aligning ambition with execution.

This collaboration is important as global sustainability standards evolve. African markets must engage with these frameworks in ways that reflect local realities, ensuring they support inclusion, growth and resilience rather than creating unintended barriers.

The adoption of IFRS S1 and S2 Standards will further support sustainability initiatives. Looking ahead, the path forward will not be simple. Climate risks will continue to intensify.

Capital constraints will persist. Global political uncertainty will remain a defining feature of our time. But African insurance leaders are showing that uncertainty does not have to result in loss or inertia.

By embedding sustainability into governance, underwriting and investment decisions, insurers are positioning themselves not only to absorb future shocks but to shape more resilient development pathways.

The Africa Sustainable Insurance Summit provides a timely platform to reflect on progress, confront hard questions, and strengthen partnerships. The future of insurance in Africa will be written by those willing to act decisively, collaborate openly, and deploy capital where it matters most.

- The writer is Chair, The Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance and Group CEO at ICEA Lion