Truth be told, you would probably be forgiven for thinking that
the only newsworthy development on environmental, social and
governance ("ESG") considerations in the
insurance industry these past few months revolved exclusively
around the notorious Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation
("SFDR") – particularly, the Level
1 Requirements incumbent on select insurance undertakings (namely
life insurers) and intermediaries as of the 10 March 2021.
Despite the initial furore, it would seem that the local life
insurance market is yet to truly come to grips with the SFDR's
expectations, but time is evidently running out. Many will have
heard of the MFSA's Request for Information
("ROI") issued via circular dated 30
July 2021, whereby the Authority is expecting all financial market
participants and financial advisers (as defined under the SFDR) to
disclose the extent of their efforts to comply with the SFDR and
ESG considerations generally, by the 10 September 2021.
