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Cut emissions today to insure tomorrow, warns report as 2024 marks the first year to cross red line of 1.5°C global heating  Insure Our Future’s eighth annual scorecard report Within Our Power reveals that climate change accounts for an estimated $600 billion, or over a third, of global insured weather losses over the last two …

Insure Our Future’s eighth annual scorecard report Within Our Power reveals that climate change accounts for an estimated $600 billion, or over a third, of global insured weather losses over the last two decades — an immense climate price tag that insurers have long been passing on to policyholders. With voluntary corporate actions falling far …

The insurance crisis: an illness caused by rising climate risks The insurance industry is facing a growing crisis that threatens our society and the global economy. We have temporarily breached 1.5℃ leaving individuals increasingly vulnerable. The numbers are stark: Carbon Brief compiled every published study on the influence of climate change on extreme weather and …

In response to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) recommendation of a “dedicated prudential treatment for insurers’ fossil fuel assets to cushion against transition risks” Minyoung Shin, Global Coordinator for Insure Our Future, said: ###

Tokyo, October 28, 2024 – In the last week of August, five environmental NGOs (Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Friends of the Earth Japan, Mekong Watch, Rainforest Action Network, Insure Our Future) sent a request letter to 50 financial institutions that are major shareholders of SOMPO Holdings, requesting to engage with …

Trieste, 22 October 2024 – Today, Italian insurer Generali announced it will no longer provide insurance for risks associated with oil and gas expansion, including new liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals and gas-fired power plants (1). Generali is the first insurer globally to adopt a policy covering the entire oil and gas value chain for …

London, 9 October 2024 – Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading insurance market, is holding back climate action through its on-going support for fossil fuel expansion, according to new analysis from Reclaim Finance (1). While other major European insurers’ no longer cover new fossil fuel projects, Lloyd’s of London continues to provide cover, with no …

Zurich, 20 September 2024 – Zurich Insurance published its first transition plan yesterday. Campax and Insure Our Future welcome the move, but are disappointed with the unambitious emission reduction targets.  Zurich Insurance, ranked 4th globally in primary insurance and 6th in insuring fossil fuels, was previously a member of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA). …

Below, the letter “Request to engage with SOMPO to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects” was submitted to SOMPO’s 50 large shareholders. August 28, 2024 Dear Shareholders of SOMPO Holdings, Request to engage with SOMPO to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES) Friends of the Earth …

Today, the shareholder advocacy organization Investors for Paris Compliance (I4PC) released a report outlining the role of Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry in encouraging fossil fuels while facing rising climate claims and passing along these costs to policyholders. The report Playing With Fire: Canadian Insurers and Fossil Fuels shows how the industry redistributes climate-related risks and …

There is a contradiction within Canada’s property and casualty (P&C) industry. By its own admission, climate change is threatening the industry’s business model with increased risk and rising claims, yet it is complicit in increasing this risk via its underwriting and investing in the fossil fuel industry.

The dangerous impacts of climate change – the flooding, droughts, extreme heat, tropical cyclones,  severe storms, erosion, water contamination and groundwater depletion  – are well known and witnessed daily in Bangladesh, my home, but one thing that’s less obvious is the role of the insurance industry in the crisis. Burning fossil fuels is the number …

Fifty years after the industry first warned about the growing risks of climate change it continues to provide insurance that allows new fossil fuel projects to go ahead. Insurers are abandoning customers affected by climate risks, yet most continue to fuel the climate emergency by providing cover for increased oil and gas production. Download the …

Washington, D.C., 28 September 2023 – Leading European insurers are underwriting nearly a third of U.S. coal production despite their net zero commitments, reveals a new report released today by Insure Our Future. Lloyd’s of London, Zurich and Swiss Re are among the top ten insurers of the 25 biggest U.S. mines, which produced more …

Kinshasa, 8 September 2023 – Any company granted exploration and exploitation rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) oil auction could find itself without financial protection, according to a report published today by Greenpeace Africa, Insure our Future, Reclaim Finance and Urgewald. If leading insurance and reinsurance companies follow their commitments and their general …

Written in collaboration with Reclaim Finance. Numerous insurers have quit the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) under pressure from climate denying politicians and officials in the United States. The insurance industry has for decades been aware of the causes and serious consequences of climate change and its business model is being shaken by repeated multi-billion …

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 …

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 …

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”. 

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 …

Insure Our Future’s annual scorecard ranks the top 30 global fossil fuel insurers on the quality of their fossil fuel exclusion policies. This year Allianz, AXA and Axis Capital rank best for their coal exit policies, while Aviva, Hannover Re and Munich Re come out on top for their oil and gas exclusions. At the bottom of fossil fuel rankings are a group of insurers …

62% of reinsurers now have coal exit policies and 38% have oil and gas exclusions as shift away from fossil fuels accelerates Insurance company restrictions on oil and gas are finally starting to catch up with those on coal, according to new data from the Insure Our Future campaign. Ahead of COP27, the campaign coalition …

Will major insurers rule out support for Ichthys LNG’s expansion? One month before COP27, Reclaim Finance calls on global insurers not to renew insurance coverage to Ichthys LNG, one of the most carbon-intensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Australia whose promoters TotalEnergies and Inpex (1) are currently planning its climate-wrecking expansion. Based on rare …

The Gwich’in Steering Committee (GSC) released an update to its scorecard that tracks global insurance companies’ policy on fossil fuel development in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Since the initial release of the scorecard in August 2021, six additional “gold medal” companies have been added for a total of 12 international insurers with …