Entries are now open for the inaugural Finder Green Awards. The Australian comparison website, which will announce the winners in mid-March, wants to celebrate both existing work in the sustainability field and encourage more of it in 2020.
The awards span a number of categories which are open to organisations operating in different industries, with one of them being open to insurers. The Green Insurer of the Year award attempts to recognise the leading ‘green’ insurer that sells insurance directly to Australians across the country.
But what characteristics would an award-winning, sustainable insurer have? Ben King, CSR Manager at Finder, believes there are a variety of factors.
“We’re looking for insurance businesses that are taking action on their corporate environmental footprint as well as offering eco-friendly options to consumers,” he tells Insurance Business. “We’re also really keen to hear from companies offering climate friendly products that encourage consumers to think about their impact too.”
For insurers keen to show off their climate-friendly-credentials and apply, King explains that they should be self-reflecting to see if certain criteria have been met.
“A winner in this category will likely have a small environmental impact relative to the size of the business,” said King.
A prospective winner should have plans and targets in place to attempt to reduce their impact further, but also have ensured that they are investing in a sustainable way. “Policies should be in place to make sure insurance premiums are invested responsibly,” King told Insurance Business.
There are also People Awards for individuals, including those in insurance, underwriting and from brokerages – the aim being to celebrate those championing and taking action on sustainability.
But what was Finder’s idea behind the awards? And what do insurers earn from applying for, and potentially winning, them?
“We realised that the biggest positive impact we can have on the environment as a comparison website is through helping customers find greener options through the decisions they make on our platform,” said King. Over 2.5 million Australians visit the website each month and King explains that even if just a small fraction of that turned to more sustainable options, “the collective impact would be huge.”
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King believes that a similar sustainability drive is shared by consumers too.
“Our Consumer Sentiment Tracker shows that 88% of Australians considering whether to make a purchase believe that a company’s environmental efforts are important,” he said
This awareness translates to their purchase preference online. Sustainability ratings have been included next to energy providers on Finder and consumer preferences for greener options has been evident. “What we’ve seen is that clicks on providers with higher ratings have increased by nearly 200%,” King said. “Sustainability can be the point that tips the balance in consumer decision making.”
For insurers, the USP of recognition for sustainability efforts is significant. “With so much competition, there’s a real need for insurance providers to differentiate themselves at a brand level,” says King.
Recently, a couple of insurance brands have taken a public stance on environmental issues that has corresponded with increasing consumer awareness about sustainability. For example, NRMA’s ‘Home Insurance for Koalas’ has seen the insurer plant a tree for every new home insurance policy taken out before the end of January.
With applications closing on February 05, Finder hopes that for both businesses and the environment that it pays to go green.
