Protesters holding a banner outside Vienna Insurance Group headquarters

42 environmental organisations across Central and Eastern Europe unite in denouncing Vienna Insurance Group’s lack of oil and gas policy and are making their voices heard at its AGM

Vienna, 26 May 2023 – Over 40 environmental organisations from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have united to publish an open letter [1] addressed to the CEO of Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), Ms. Elisabeth Stadler, expressing deep concern over the company’s lack of an oil and gas policy and its too laxed coal policy, and …

Insure Our Future’s response to the Net Zero Insurance Alliance exodus

What’s happening with the Net Zero Insurance Alliance  Today, French reinsurer SCOR, the world’s 7th biggest non-life reinsurance company left the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) while significantly strengthening its oil and gas restrictions at the same time. At its AGM, the reinsurer today announced that it would no longer underwrite the development of new …

SCOR AGM: French reinsurer to no longer cover new gas fields

Paris, 25 May 2023 – At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) today, the first for the new CEO Thierry Léger, SCOR announced that it will no longer cover new gas field development projects (1). Reclaim Finance welcomes these new climate commitments and calls on Thierry Léger to also exclude new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals …

Oil and gas platform in Norway

Insurance giants complicit in Norway’s oil and gas expansion

Oslo, 24 May 2023 – A new report from Greenpeace Nordic reveals for the first time the extent that insurance companies are prioritising dirty profits over the future of the planet by facilitating new oil and gas projects in defiance of the Paris Agreement targets and their own greenwashing rhetoric. The report, Ensuring Disaster, was …

Over 500 students refuse to work for climate-wrecking Lloyd’s of London and others

Read The Guardian article, “UK students pledge ‘career boycott’ of insurers over fossil fuels,” published on May 24, 2023 covering the students who refuse to work for climate-wrecking insurance companies. The text of the letter to Lloyd’s of London, Beazley, Brit, Hiscox, Liberty Managing Agents, Chaucer and Tokio Marine Kiln management is as follows: “We, …

Insurers’ shift away from fossil fuels continues in spite of political obstruction

This article first appeared on Environmental Finance. You can find the article here. The recent departures of Munich Re, Zurich and Hannover Re from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) have created a lot of debate. Amidst all the noise it’s important to remember the following basic facts about net zero commitments. Munich Re has cited antitrust concerns as the reason …

Another major insurance group commits to stop insuring new oil and gas exploration

Germany, Hanover May 2, 2023 – Talanx, a major German insurance group which operates globally, has adopted new restrictions on oil and gas. New oil and gas fields will no longer be insured as of July 1, 2023.  New oil power plants and new infrastructure directly associated with new oil fields will also be excluded. …

AXA AGM: A missed opportunity for climate justice

Paris, 27 April 2023 – At its annual general meeting (AGM), AXA missed the opportunity to regain its climate leadership. Despite a call from a representative from an impacted community to warn of the impacts of oil and gas projects in Texas, the group reiterated its support for new gas projects in the name of …

Open letter: Lloyd’s of London’s policy on fossil fuels

Writing in the Times on 24 April, 2023 faith leaders called on the world’s largest insurance market to “show leadership” by ending insurance for all new fossil fuel projects. The text of the letter is below. Dear Bruce Carnegie-Brown and John Neal, As representatives of UK faith organisations, we are writing to you to ask …

Korean property and casualty insurers lack oil and gas insurance and investment policies

Eight out of nine companies score “0” on oil and gas insurance and investment policies. Need to establish a policy on overall fossil fuels to manage climate change risk. Even as fossil fuels were (and still are) being identified for exacerbating climate change, it was found that Korean domestic property and casualty insurers have no …

Mounting Opposition to EACOP: New Finance Risk Update Highlights Risks for Banks and Insurers

A new Finance Risk Update on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project highlights the mounting opposition to the project in Uganda, Tanzania, and globally, citing significant financial, reputational, and legal risks. The update shows that even more banks and insurers are withdrawing their support for the project, bringing the total number of banks …

The good, the bad and the ugly: The fossil fuel policies of Lloyd’s managing agents

A new briefing focused on Lloyd’s of London and its managing agents finds Lloyd’s is failing the climate responsibility test by allowing unchecked fossil fuel expansion and by not ensuring that its managing agents meet even the minimum standards that Lloyd’s has previously recommended. An analysis by Reclaim Finance of Lloyd’s top 20 managing agents (who represent …

Lloyd’s of London still on a fossil fuel diet

Disclaimer: Beazley indicated to Reclaim Finance a few hours before the release of the report to have decided to align with Lloyd’s policy and no longer underwrite new coal mines and plants as well as new tar sands, or arctic energy exploration projects, or companies which generated more than 5% revenues from these activities. This …

Insure Our Future campaign responds to Zurich’s exit from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance

Following Munich Re, Zurich is the second founding member of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance to leave the NZIA in recent days. The Swiss insurer claims it wants “to focus our resources to support our customers with their transition”. 

EACOP: Lloyd’s Cincinnati rule out pipeline while Talbot stays silent in response to protests

Following a week of protests, Cincinnati Global’s syndicate at Lloyd’s confirmed that it will not insure the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline, which has been the subject of international protests. (Nick Chalk), Active Underwriter with Cincinnati at Lloyd’s confirmed verbally with a member of the Insure our Future campaign, “We 100% do not write this …

Annual letter to the CEOs of 30 major fossil fuel insurers, 2023

Every year, the Insure Our Future network publishes an open letter to the CEOs of 30 major insurance companies whose fossil fuel policies are ranked annually by Insure Our Future, among which are: AIG, Allianz, AXA, Chubb, Generali, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd’s of London, Munich Re, SCOR, Sinosure, SOMPO, Tokio Marine and Zurich. The letter outlines …

Mother Earth performs outside Lloyd’s of London in Mother’s Day plea for climate action

Mothers Rise Up calls on insurer to change its tune on fossil fuel insurance UK mums staged a concert outside Lloyd’s of London in a Mother’s Day plea to the company to stop insuring new fossil fuel projects in the North Sea and beyond. The event, organised by climate-parent group, Mothers Rise Up, featured a …

A group of activists dressed mostly in red jumpsuits stand in front of an office building with large glass windows. They are holding signs and banners with different phrases about "stopping EACOP" there are yellow signs on the ground and a black fake oil spill on the ground.

Lloyd’s Insurers Talbot & Cincinnati targeted in global ‘week of action’ against ‘toxic’ pipeline

Today, 23rd February activists from the StopEACOP Coalition held an ‘oil spill’ demonstration outside the offices of two insurance companies, Talbot & Cincinnati Global Underwriting to demand the companies rule out the controversial East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Activists staged a moveable ‘oil spill,’ with hazard signs that highlighted the risks of the controversial …

Large silver skyscraper building that is the Lloyds of London office with a clear blue sky behind.

British and African Quakers urge against insurance for East African pipeline

In an open letter Paul Parker, recording clerk of Quakers in Britain, and Bainito Wamalwa, Africa section clerk of Friends World Committee for Consultation, asked for a meeting with the world’s leading insurance market to discuss its action on climate change. They urged Lloyd’s Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown and Chief Executive John Neal, whose members insure a large …

Insure Our Future calls on insurance brokers to state their position on EACOP

Following the complaint lodged by Ugandan, Tanzanian and U.S. based human rights groups alleging that Marsh is violating OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by serving as insurance broker for the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the Insure Our Future campaign is calling on the world’s largest insurance brokers to take notice of the …

Tokio Marine: hot contender for corporate greenwashing award

Tokio Marine, Japan’s biggest international insurance company, would like to see itself as a corporate climate leader. It needs to quickly exit coal if it doesn’t want to be seen as a leader in corporate greenwashing. Tokio Marine’s central brand pledge is “to be a good company”, and its CEO Satoru Komiya has called climate change …

Marsh and the Banshkhali coal power station in Bangladesh: What you should know

For a new coal plant or oil pipeline to happen, fossil fuel developers need to be matched with insurers who can provide the coverage needed to build and operate these projects — that’s where insurance brokers like Marsh come in. Brokers play a critical (if often neglected) role in making coal, oil, and gas projects …

70 Groups Call on Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg to live up to his climate rhetoric

70 groups delivered a letter today calling on Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg to strengthen Chubb’s weak coal policy and stop insuring new oil and gas. Citizens’ groups wearing Evan Greenberg masks delivered the letter to Chubb headquarters in New York, Zurich, and San Francisco in advance of Chubb’s May 20th shareholder meeting. Chubb was an …

No justification for new oil and gas projects, new IEA report finds

In a welcome reversal of long-held positions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that “there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply” in a Net-Zero pathway to 2050. This conclusion confirms that governments, investors, banks and insurance companies no longer have any justification for supporting new oil, gas or coal projects. Founded …

German insurers are risking their climate credibility

By continuing to do coal business on the side and insuring new oil and gas projects, German insurers are putting their climate credibility at risk. Last year saw more hurricanes than ever before, unprecedented wildfires from Australia and California to Siberia, and flood disasters from China to the Sahel region. During the recent Earth Day, …

Adani’s coal project exposes yet another risk to insurers: flooding

Adani and its rail line contractors, BMD and Martinus, have failed to prepare for the wet season. Pictures have emerged of substantial flooding on a section of the under-construction rail line to service the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine in Australia. Lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia (EJA), acting for Mackay Conservation Group (MCG), have written …

Coal exit policies add billions of dollars to insurers’ shareholder value, analyst report suggests

Climate campaigners have pushed insurance companies to exit the coal sector for many years. They have now received support from an unexpected source: financial analysts. “We think the insurance sector’s most important contribution to ESG is exiting coal underwriting”, a recent report issued by the French bank Societe Generale states. “Stopping underwriting coal is particularly …

Can the Premier League’s greenest club find a sponsor which shares its green credentials?

On January 25, 2021, BBC Sport and the Sport Positive Summit named Tottenham Hotspur the Premier League’s greenest club. Congratulations! Can Spurs, which also just signed up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, drop AIA and find a shirt sponsor which shares their commitment to a healthy planet? Ahead of Arsenal, Brighton and …

Who is insuring exploratory oil drilling in the Bahamas, and why?

Update (22-01-2021): “Having previously said they had no record of insuring BPC’s ill-conceived offshore oil drilling project, Lloyd’s has now admitted they are providing insurance. We can understand why Lloyd’s would have been embarrassed to admit they’re insuring this project. New oil and gas projects are completely incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5C. Lloyd’s …

Aon blows its cover on fossil fuels

Aon, the world’s second-biggest insurance broker, argued in a recent report that “a rapid shift away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources” is needed. “If society does fail to take action,” the broker warned, “the final outcome may be catastrophic.” Writing this piece from California, Aon’s warning certainly sounds prescient. Yet, while …

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