A Confident Future: Building resilience through responsible business

As the insurance industry and beyond reflects on the events 2020, there’s a growing realisation that the industry and wider economy cannot be resilient without responsible business practices.

Future-proofing the economic recovery requires the responsible use of energy and natural resources; consideration of human rights; employee and community wellbeing; and ensuring customers are at the forefront of decision making.

Over the past two years, we have been integrating these considerations into our decision making through our corporate responsibility strategy, Confident Futures. This helps us assess the opportunities to maximise our positive impact on society and reduce the environmental impact of our operations.

Film Still — Find out more about how we're working towards building a Confident Future at RSA.

Shaping a smarter tomorrow

As an insurer we can play a powerful and practical role in helping customers and society be safer. Although we can’t remove life’s uncertainties, RSA is raising awareness of risks to enhance our customers’ and society’s understanding of risks so that they can manage them more effectively.

This year, we reached 224,000 people through our risk education programmes, donating over £630,000 to risk awareness and prevention organisations. We’re particularly proud of our partnership with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). So far, we’ve helped 7,650 people access online resources to improve their strength and balance and reduce the risk of a fall. This year we’re expanding on this partnership to create a nationwide network of falls prevention champions.

We’re also using our expertise in risk management and product development to support society to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change. We are helping communities build resilience by sharing knowledge of how they can protect their homes and businesses from extreme weather events such as floods, storms, wildfires and drought.

Building stronger relationships

We continually adapt and respond to the changing needs of our customers, colleagues and communities by listening to feedback and finding ways to help them achieve their goals. Despite the turbulence of 2020, the wellbeing of our customers and colleagues have been at the forefront of our minds.

We have invested £13 million in local communities, supporting over 600 charities who’ve been greatest hit by the pandemic. This has helped maintain essential support in communities we are a part of, tackling issues including mental health and loneliness, food poverty and homelessness, and access to education for young people.

Managing the everyday well

Integrating responsible business practices into our everyday operations means being selective in our investments and underwriting, carefully managing our supply chains and reducing our environmental impact.

In 2020, we implemented our first Climate Change and Low Carbon Policy, committing to insuring renewable energy and limiting our exposure to the most carbon-intensive sectors. We’ve also embedded assessment of sustainability through our supply chain and are working with our claims suppliers to encourage ‘repair over replace’.

Creating a more responsible business doesn't happen by itself – it takes the dedication of our people to make it a reality, and we’re truly grateful for every contribution. We want to continue challenging ourselves to make the best decisions for the world around us and to work with others to make this happen.

Download our 2020 Confident Futures Corporate Responsibility Report to find out how we’re integrating responsible business practices to maximise our positive impact on society and the environment.