International Association of Insurance Supervisors sets strategic plan for 2025-2029

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has identified three strategic themes that it said will feature prominently in its work programme: climate change, digital innovation including the use of artificial intelligence and cyber risks, and the need for insurance to deliver on its societal purpose of building resilience.

Publishing its Strategic Plan 2025-2029, the IAIS said that over the next five years, it will place a heightened emphasis on globally consistent implementation of the IAIS’s standards, including by assessing implementation across jurisdictions and by supporting members’ efforts in implementing effective supervisory practices. It said it will remain vigilant in its assessment of key risks and trends impacting the global insurance sector.

“The Strategic Plan builds on the achievements of the previous five-year period,” said IAIS executive committee chair Shigeru Ariizumi. “Looking ahead, the IAIS will place a greater emphasis on implementation of our standards and on the themes of climate change, digital innovation and societal resilience.”

The Strategic Plan articulates the core objectives of the IAIS as a standard-setting body, identifies a set of strategic themes and sets out the operational priorities of the IAIS. It said assessing and responding to key risks and trends impacting the global insurance sector will remain a priority, and the IAIS will continue to refine its annual risk assessment framework and use it to support globally coordinated supervisory responses.

The Strategic Plan sets out the IAIS’s core objectives:

• Monitor and respond to key risks and trends in the global insurance sector;
• Set and maintain globally recognised standards for supervision that are effective and proportionate;
• Support members by sharing good supervisory practices, promoting understanding of supervisory issues and facilitating capacity building; and
• Assess comprehensive and globally consistent implementation of global standards.

The three strategic themes for its work programme in areas that have the potential to significantly impact, or even reshape, the insurance sector in the coming years are:

• Strengthening the supervisory response to climate change;
• Adapting to digital innovation and cyber risks; and
• Supporting insurance to serve its societal purpose of building resilience, including access and affordability of insurance, fair treatment of consumers and the need to address protection gaps.

“The IAIS has identified climate change, digital innovation and cyber risks, and supporting insurance to serve its societal purpose as warranting heightened attention and action by the global supervisory community,” said IAIS secretary general Jonathan Dixon. “We will integrate work on these strategic themes across all four IAIS core objectives.”