Insurance allows people to protect and build on their existing assets, and can have direct impacts on poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, climate change, and economic growth. This presentation will set the stage for why insurance is necessary for sustainable development, as examined through the lens of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. It will discuss the role of both researchers and insurance practitioners in better understanding and realizing the potential that insurance has to promote development, and will lay the foundation for interactive discussions between practitioners and academics throughout the event.