INSURANCE COMPANIES’ SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Abstract

Starting from the 80s of the 20th century, measures of social responsibility are increasingly woven into the activities of enterprises, first as the integration of employees into the development of the company's development strategy, and then as a means of increasingly meeting the needs of society. Today, there is no doubt about the expediency and importance of involving business structures (including insurance companies) in social and environmental projects, promotion and observance of human values, implementation of inclusion, responsible consumption. In general, everyone will benefit from the implementation of social responsibility measures: the insurer's clients, employees, the region, the state, and the insurer itself. This study is devoted to the examination of the insurers’ participation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through the prism of social responsibility. Based on the essence of insurance, its social nature, the article describes in detail the role of insurers in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the main directions. Measures of internal and external social responsibility of insurance companies are described. The positive consequences of the corporate social responsibility introduction measures by insurers have been identified. The main financial and non-financial indicators for assessing the socially responsible strategy of the insurer are given. On the basis of the conducted research, it was established that a socially responsible insurance company is a company that is aware of its impact on the internal and external environment of operation and conducts its activities responsibly, interacting with consumers, employees, partners, society in general to solve acute problems of humanity. It is noted that the priority of insurers' activities in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals forms an appropriate model of business social policy, which depends on the level of development and existing problems of the economy in the country, the nature of state policy, the level of the population's quality of life and its readiness for further changes.