In this age of globalisation, interconnectivity and social media, public expectations are high for business to play its part in addressing society’s environmental, social and ethical challenges (which for the purposes of this paper will be termed “sustainability challenges”).The (re-)insurance industry, through the provision of insurance, or investments, may be exposed to sustainability challenges inherent in certain business transactions. Consequently, our exposure to such transactions can have a damaging effect on the stakeholder trust and reputation we have built over the years. The CRO Forum’s “Recommendations for Managing Environmental, Social and Ethical Challenges in Business Transactions” published in August 2010, makes proposals for the systematic detection, assessment and management of the sustainability challenges in question.
Building on that publication, the CRO Forum now focuses its attention on one specific issue namely, anti-personnel mines (APMs) and cluster munitions. The purpose of this paper is to raise general awareness of the issues related to APMs and cluster munitions and the consequent reputation risks. In addition, the paper sets out possible ways of how (re-)insurance companies, from a risk management perspective, could address business transactions in relation to APMs and cluster munitions. It should be noted that the paper does not present any technical, legal, financial or underwriting views.