Milliman research on sustainable investing wins RGA Leaders of Tomorrow award

The oil furnace in her century-old home provided the spark of inspiration. Now Milliman’s Joyce Liow is headed to the 2023 Global Insurance Forum to receive an award for her paper, “Embracing sustainable investments: Opportunities and challenges for insurers .”

Joyce is an internal audit manager for Milliman's financial risk management (FRM) practice based in Upstate New York. Earlier this year, her husband purchased their first house, a property built in 1900. When they discovered the old heating system would need to be replaced, they realized they had an opportunity.

“We as homeowners could make a green energy choice and not continue burning fossil fuels,” Joyce says.

But then she wondered: What were insurers doing to foster sustainability?

Mentees challenged to research insurance industry topics

This idea was flickering at the back of Joyce’s mind when she was offered an intriguing opportunity by her manager, Amber Damergis, Milliman FRM's senior director and head of governance and risk management: Would Joyce like to participate in the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program?

Offered through the International Insurance Society, the opportunity matches 11 emerging insurance leaders from around the world with executive mentors and challenges them to write a research paper on current industry issues. Amber was part of last year’s cohort. This year, Milliman Chairman Ken Mungan served as one of the mentors.

Joyce was eager to sign on. “It was a great opportunity to learn more about insurance,” she says. “As a non-actuary, I was excited to have a platform for contributing to the betterment of the industry.”

Escalating climate crisis fuels sense of urgency

Her program mentor was Carolina Gonzalez Martín del Rio, the technical deputy director, civil liability, for MAPFRE, a multinational insurer headquartered in Spain. She and Joyce began meeting virtually and discussing potential paper topics in the spring. Joyce also bounced ideas off several Milliman colleagues, including Josh Dobiac , a principal and risk consultant, whose own research on sustainable investing provided inspiration.

Meanwhile, Joyce’s home renovations were progressing, along with her interest in the climate impact on insurers. And then, as spring gave way to summer, Joyce recalls, “the world started burning.”

Record wildfires and heat across the Northern Hemisphere fueled her topic’s sense of urgency.

Paper guides insurers on sustainable investing

Joyce credits Amber’s policy of meeting-free Fridays for enabling her to balance her day-to-day responsibilities with research and writing.

The final paper explores the challenges and opportunities for insurance companies pursuing sustainable investing strategies. It includes a discussion of MAPFRE’s sustainability plan as a pathway for insurers to follow.

“It’s still such a nascent and evolving field that there isn’t a single correct approach,” Joyce notes.

Surprise email from Milliman’s chairman

The mentorship program culminated in an online presentation on September 21, when Joyce joined her Leaders of Tomorrow peers to share their research findings. She’d barely hung up the call when a message from an unexpected sender popped into her inbox.

From: Ken Mungan

Subject: Congratulations!!!

Joyce’s paper had been a standout, Ken shared. She was awarded Honorable Mention in the writing competition.

Up next: Leading insurers into tomorrow

In early November, Joyce will attend the 59th Global Insurance Forum, where she’ll receive her award and join a panel with her fellow program winners. (By coincidence, the forum is in her home country of Singapore, and she’s excited to also visit family and friends during the trip.)

Although the event will conclude this year’s mentorship program, Joyce looks forward to doing more research and writing. She also hopes to keep in touch with her fellow Leaders of Tomorrow, most of whom also chose paper topics related to sustainability.

“Through our research, and as a collective cohort,” Joyce says, “we hope we will be able to nudge the insurance industry into taking the actions we suggested.”

Milliman is committed to sustainability. Learn more about our social impact and the Milliman Climate Resilience Initiative .