Half of national insurance regulators dismiss need for DE&I oversight

National insurance regulatory authorities worldwide remain far from consensus on the need for supervisory action on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with nearly half dismissing the need, a survey of members of the global regulatory forum IAAIS has indicated.

“Just over half of the supervisors that responded to the survey attribute a medium or high priority to taking supervisory action to promote DEI within insurers, with the remainder viewing it as a low priority,” authors started off on a list of key findings.

The survey, conducted earlier in 2022, brought in 39 responses from national regulators, chiefly in Western Europe, followed by North America and then Asia.

The nearly one half of respondents claiming a low priority "considered it less relevant for their jurisdiction, outside of their remit, or that they had already made sufficient progress," authors wrote.

A minority of respondents also cited a lack of mandate to act on the matter, including cases of possible legal constraints. Some 18% claim to be hindered by a “lack of relevant knowledge or expertise.”

Some one third of voluntary respondents claim to have conducted any analysis of the state of DEI in the insurance industry in their jurisdiction, authors noted.

Key barriers include the absence of agreed standards or best-practice guidance, cited by nearly 60% of respondents, or the pressure of competing supervisory priorities, cited by over 55%.

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