The Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) Initiative is pleased to announce the first edition of the PSI Nature-Aware Underwriting Toolkit, a new suite of resources designed to help insurers better understand and integrate nature-related considerations into underwriting and risk assessment.

PSI Signatories are now invited to access, test and provide feedback on the toolkit through the PSI Member Area and help shape its continued development through the UNEP FI Risk Centre’s Sustainability Risk Integration Programme.

Developed by the PSI Working Group for Nature, a multi-stakeholder group of more than 50 insurers, reinsurers, and brokers together with more than 20 technical experts, the toolkit addresses a growing industry challenge: understanding how ecosystem extent and condition can influence climate-related risks, insured losses and resilience outcomes. The award-winning toolkit comprises:

  • PSI Climate–Nature Nexus Atlas and Application Guide: Drawing on an extensive evidence base of scientific and intergovernmental sources, the Atlas maps how 108 ecosystem types (using the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology) influence 12 climate-related perils, showing where degraded, healthy and restored ecosystems may amplify or reduce risk. An interactive interface enables users to apply these findings to specific perils, countries and lines of business, supporting activities ranging from initial screening and prioritization to assessment, integration and monitoring. The accompanying Application Guide explains the Atlas methodology and provides practical guidance on interpreting and applying its insights within underwriting and risk assessment processes, tailored to different levels of organizational maturity.
  • PSI Nature-Aware Underwriting Handbook: A modular engagement tool that supports business-line discussions and builds understanding of nature-related risks and opportunities across underwriting, actuarial, exposure management and risk functions. The Handbook is structured around three pillars: Education, Engagement and Exploration.

Together, these resources provide a structured approach to understanding how ecosystem extent and condition can influence climate-related perils and insurance-relevant outcomes. By translating emerging climate–nature science into practical underwriting insights, they help insurers strengthen their understanding of climate-related risk and integrate nature-related considerations into underwriting decision-making.

 

An industry-led initiative

The launch marks the beginning of the toolkit’s next phase of development. Through application in real-world underwriting contexts, PSI Signatories will help identify priority areas for refinement, strengthen methodologies, and expand use cases across different markets, geographies and lines of business. This iterative approach reflects the PSI Working Group for Nature’s commitment to developing practical tools with the insurance industry, drawing on the expertise and experience of insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and technical partners.

 

Supporting future development through the UNEP FI Risk Centre

Version 1.0 of the PSI Nature-Aware Underwriting Toolkit is available to all PSI Signatories through the PSI Member Area. PSI Signatories are encouraged to begin testing the toolkit internally.

Further development of the toolkit will be conducted through the UNEP FI Risk Centre’s Sustainability Risk Integration Programme. Feedback from programme participants on practical application of the toolkit will help refine methodologies, identify use cases across business lines and geographies, and advance industry approaches to nature-aware underwriting.

The next phase of work will broaden the tool’s applicability from insurance to the banking sector. Through this iterative process, the toolkit aims to support financial institutions’ growing efforts to understand and respond to the interconnected challenges of climate change and nature loss and highlight linkages between insurability and banking.

Interested signatories are invited to find out more about the programme and register here.

 

Acknowledgements and funding

Led by the PSI Working Group for Nature, the PSI Climate–Nature Nexus Atlas was developed with support by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) via the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

It was developed with the financial support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the From Awareness to Action: ENCORE Phase II project.

Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE) is a free online tool that helps organizations explore their exposure to nature-related risk and take steps to understand their dependencies and impacts on nature.