Editorial

Difficult decisions in a turbulent market

Few could have predicted the events that would unfold over the first quarter of 2022. With the Russian attack on Ukraine, the European Union and its allies came together to take action and condemn this act of aggression. Foreign companies left Russia, with many Nordic companies impacted in the aftermath that unfolded.

For many companies and insurers alike, it has been quite a turbulent month. Various actions were required with regards to our portfolio, as well as internally, in our efforts to respond to the sudden changes in our market. There have been many challenging discussions and we have had to make difficult decisions. Working together with our clients, we continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine.

Transparent risk management

The past years have been truly challenging, businesses have been struggling through the pandemic, natural hazards and extreme weather events are on the rise, and a shortage of raw materials and critical components continues to hinder recovery. Now, companies are once again challenged, this time by war and the consequences of war. Today, preventing losses and managing risks are critical to getting back on track from these difficulties.

At If, we have 45 risk management specialists. Our Risk Engineers have broad technical expertise and extensive experience related to the risks our clients face. Located in eight countries, alongside our offices in the Nordics and Baltics, we also have experts in our branch offices in Germany, France, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

We are here to support our clients with our risk management experts, who will work by your side as an additional pair of eyes and ears. Risk management has many purposes, from protecting your business operations, securing safe practices to prevent losses, but also serve a very real environmental purpose. After all, a loss that does not happen is probably the ultimate sustainability measure a company can take.

Sustainability report is out!

As many of you know, last year we took several concrete steps forward with regards to sustainability. For example, environmental and human rights factors were added directly into our underwriting standards. We now expect our clients to comply with the UN Global Compact’s principles, even if they are not corporate members of the initiative themselves.

Last year, we also made our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This means we have set science-based climate targets not only for our own operations, but also for our claims handling and investment operations. This is an ambitious commitment and shows that we are ready to do our part for the climate.

Please, visit the If Sustainability Report 2021.