Rachel Delhaise, group head of sustainability at specialist re/insurer Convex, has been recognised as InsuranceERM's climate and sustainability champion of the year, in acknowledgment of her outstanding contributions to the insurance industry.

Delhaise is known and respected in the market for her leadership and dedication to embedding climate considerations into business practices.

And this prestigious recognition underscores her pivotal role in driving forward sustainability initiatives at Convex and across the wider sector.

Motivation

Delhaise's journey into sustainability began around five years ago when she realised that tackling climate change was one of the most pressing issues on both a geopolitical and business level.

Formerly a chief risk officer at StarStone Insurance, she explains: "It became clear to me that addressing climate change in business was imperative, and fortunately, my skills and experience in the insurance sector has allowed me to make an impact."

Her role at Convex has enabled her to combine her expertise in insurance with a passion for climate action, making her a key figure in helping the industry transition towards a low-carbon economy.

Leadership

A significant part of Delhaise's recent work has been her involvement with ClimateWise, which helps align the insurance industry's expertise and directly support society in responding to the risks and opportunities posed by climate change.

As a member of a working group within ClimateWise, Delhaise contributed to revising long-standing principles, ensuring they remain relevant and practical for insurance firms in today's regulatory landscape.

"What compelled me was that we should revise these in a way that was practical and helpful for insurance firms," she explained.

Her efforts have focused on helping shape how the revised principles reflect the evolving regulatory requirements tied to climate risk. In addition to her work with ClimateWise, Delhaise has overseen impactful initiatives at Convex, such as the Convex Seascape Survey.

This five-year project aims to fill enormous science and knowledge gaps on the connection between the ocean and its ability to absorb carbon, and thereby spur action on the climate crisis.

The Convex Seascape Survey, led by University of Exeter, is a global project which will provide the science to understand where and how carbon is locked in the ocean floor, as well as the role of marine animal life in sequestering this..

Future Trends and challenges

Looking to the future, Delhaise highlights some of the emerging trends and challenges in climate risk management.

A key challenge is growing scrutiny about how insurers assess climate risk. According to Delhaise, this is coming from stakeholders across the entire insurance value chain, including regulators, clients, investors, capital providers, and rating agencies.

On the topic of increasing sustainability reporting burdens for insurers, she calls on firms to avoid viewing it as mere "reporting for the sake of it". Instead, she emphasises the value of leveraging reporting to identify both risks and opportunities. Insurance, she explains, has a crucial role to play in how the world successfully transitions to a low-carbon economy.

Collaboration

Throughout her work, Delhaise has been a strong advocate for collaboration, and recognises the insurance industry must unite to tackle climate-related challenges.

"We need to be collaborative in how we can develop a better understanding of climate risks across different sectors," she stresses.

"There are lots of good climate risk committees and groups, but it's about working out how we can use our collective expertise to better understand the breadth of climate risks including transition and its impact across different sectors."

Collaboration, particularly in areas such as data reporting and risk management, will be essential as the industry navigates the complex landscape of climate and transition risk management.

Delhaise also notes the role of innovation in developing effective risk management tools.

"We all use sophisticated catastrophe modelling tools, but these will need to evolve as the world changes," she noted, adding that peril-specific and geography-specific models will become increasingly important.

Rachel Delhaise's leadership in sustainability, her involvement in pioneering initiatives like Climate Wise, and her commitment to industry collaboration make, her a deserving recipient of InsuranceERM's climate and sustainability champion of the year award.