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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 …

Ahead of SOMPO’s AGM, a letter signed by 28 Environmental NGOs, including Rainforest Action Network and the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society, was delivered urging the company to cease underwriting and investing in a contentious LNG export terminal planned in Brownsville, Texas, United States, as well as in all oil, gas, and …

Japanese insurance major’s support for the controversial gas project draws protests at annual general meeting. TOKYO, JAPAN – JUNE 24, 2024 – Today, environmental NGOs including Rainforest Action Network and the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society gathered in front of SOMPO’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to demand the Japanese insurance giant stop …

Insurers are facing the consequences of their decisions over the last half-century. Over the past month, the unfolding insurance crisis has captured headlines. The New York Times detailed how extreme weather events are stretching the insurance sector to its limits, testing the boundaries of what can and cannot be insured. Concurrently, The Guardian highlighted IPCC …

Vienna, 15 May 2024 – In response to Vienna Insurance Group’s updated sustainability rules:

New criteria falls short of aligning with 1.5°C San Francisco – In a SEC filing of “Additional Proxy Soliciting Materials” Chubb quietly updated its oil, gas, and conservation policies. RAN’s analysis, released ahead of Chubb’s Annual General Meeting Thursday, May 16th, has concluded that while the updates are a small improvement, the loopholes and narrow …

2023 was the hottest year on record, as well as the year in which we saw insurance companies abandon their customers most affected by climate risks. Climate change, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), is accompanied by ever more intense and frequent climatic disasters: forest fires, floods, drought, hurricanes, …

London, 15 April 2024 – A major investigation into the world’s 65 largest insurance companies from the responsible investment charity ShareAction, released 11 April 2024, shows that both people and planet face the triple whammy from insurance companies underwriting and investing in projects that are increasing global warming, damaging the natural environment and failing to …

Brussels, 12 April 2024 – A new report from Finance Watch outlines the steps that must be taken to ensure effective implementation of mandatory transition plans for insurance companies as tools to support transition and manage the related risks. It outlines the urgent need for supervised “prudential” transition plans, pointing to the financial instability that …

Today, as the insurance industry convenes for the first Global Sustainable Insurance Summit in Los Angeles, the 32 campaign groups of the Insure Our Future network have sent a letter to the world’s leading fossil fuel insurers, detailing how they can accelerate the transition to a clean and just energy economy. Demands in the letter …

Zurich, 8 April 2024 – In a Bloomberg story today, the Zurich Insurance Group today announced major new fossil fuel restrictions, excluding the underwriting of new oil and gas extraction and metallurgical coal projects. The Insure Our Future campaign and its Swiss member Campax welcomed the news and called on AIG, Tokio Marine and the big Lloyd’s …

Tokio Marine, Japan’s biggest property and casualty insurer and the 15th largest fossil fuel underwriter in the world, announced on 13th March that its largest subsidiary, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. (TMNF), is strengthening its engagement policy with 60 companies in high Greenhouse Gas (GHG) intensive sectors, and commits to stop insuring, …

This week has been an incredible global week of action for the Insure Our Future campaign, with thousands of people taking part in over 100 actions across 31 countries in 5 continents, including over 100,000 people taking action online. In-person actions include protests in Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia, UK, USA, Philippines, Pakistan, Tanzania, …

London, 4 March 2024 – (guest content published by Extinction Rebellion) Major insurer Probitas1492 have today (Monday) confirmed that they will never insure two major ‘carbon bomb’ projects – the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and the proposed West Cumbria coal mine – after a week of peaceful protest from Extinction Rebellion (XR) and members …

Statement by Peter Bosshard at the Global Week of Action, Zurich, February 28, 2024 The fossil fuel industry is destroying our planet. After us the deluge, is their motto! The expansion of fossil fuel extraction would not be possible without insurance. And whenever we find information about who is insuring coal and oil projects, Zurich is …

In the last week of February, people in over 30 countries across the world organized demonstrations, marches, and community events at some of the largest global insurance companies – including AIG, Tokio Marine, Zurich, Chubb, Lloyd’s of London, Travelers, Sompo, and The Hartford. These events brought a clear message: Insure our future, not fossil fuels. …

The insurance industry holds the key to a safer, prosperous future if they act now. Over 100 groups in over 27 countries across 5 continents are holding over 80 demonstrations, marches, direct actions and events this week with a clear message: Insure Our Future, not fossil fuels. The insurance industry is uniquely positioned to drive …

The Insure Our Future network and communities from across the world are coming together for the first ever Global Week of Action to spotlight and target the insurance industry for their role in the climate crisis and demand action. Groups in over 27 countries across 5 continents are holding a week’s worth of demonstrations, marches, …

Report with FOIA information reveals which insurers are part of the biggest fossil fuel buildout of this generation Houston, Texas –  At least 35 different insurance companies are responsible for underwriting liquified methane export terminal projects across the U.S Gulf South, according to a report released today by Rainforest Action Network and Public Citizen. The …

At least 35 different insurance companies are responsible for underwriting liquified methane export terminal projects across the U.S Gulf South, according to a report by Rainforest Action Network and Public Citizen. The analysis, based on documents obtained through open record requests, details the insurance coverage for existing and projected methane gas infrastructure that, if built, …

In a significant win for the natural world and the global movement fighting fossil fuel pollution, leading (re)insurance companies SiriusPoint, Riverstone International, Enstar Group, and specialty insurers Blenheim and SA Meacock, have all officially ruled out involvement in the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. A total of 28 (re)insurers have now declared …

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 …

Zurich, 28 November 2023 – Insure Our Future campaigners are protesting at the Geneva Association’s 50th anniversary summit in Zurich today, demanding that the global insurance industry take immediate action to slow the climate crisis and support the urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewables.  The Geneva Association calls itself the only international association of …

Tokyo, 22 November 2023 – On November 21, MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (hereafter MS&AD), one of Japan’s three major property and casualty insurers, announced a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of 37%  for the underwriting and investment portfolio of its domestic clients by 2030, using 2019 as a baseline year* (PR in Japanese). This …

Activists gathered in front of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) annual conference venue in Tokyo, Japan, on the 9th of November, asking the global standard-setting body to take decisive measures and strengthen their efforts to prevent the worsening of the global climate crisis. 📣Outside the @IAISNews annual conference last week attended by over …

Global, 9 November 2023 – Fifty years after the insurance industry first warned about the impact of climate change it is continuing to fuel the climate emergency, the Insure Our Future campaign warns today in its seventh annual scorecard on insurers’ climate policies. The growing frequency and severity of floods, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts and other …

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 …

Tokyo, 31 October 2023 Dear IAIS Executive Committee Chair Saporta and Vice Chair Ariizumi: CC: IAIS Executive Committee, Climate Risk Steering Group Chair and Vice Chair, and Secretariat We write to you today from dozens of climate, environment, and consumer protection organisations, as you prepare for the IAIS annual meeting, to express our deep concern …

Insurance companies continue to insure and invest in fossil fuels and are abandoning climate affected communities instead. The Net Zero Insurance Alliance has failed to define meaningful steps for addressing climate risk, so regulators need to step up. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) holds its annual meeting in Tokyo on November 6-10 and …

Baden-Baden, 20 October 2023 – Ahead of the annual reinsurance congress in Baden-Baden, Urgewald and the international Insure Our Future network call on reinsurers to end their continued unqualified support of the fossil fuel industry, emissions from which are the prime contributor to global climate change. Reinsurance companies, whose role is to provide insurance to …

Tokyo, 2 October 2023 – On September 29th, Tokio Marine, Japan’s biggest property and casualty insurer and the 7th* biggest globally, announced its “Interim Target for 2030 for the Transition to a Decarbonized Society“. It has set an engagement target within its domestic subsidiary, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (TMNF), to engage …

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 …

Seoul, 21 September 2023 – In a collective effort to address the climate crisis, a group of 29 NGOs from across the world, including Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) and Insure Our Future, has issued an open letter to the CEOs of Samsung Fire and Marine (Samsung FM) and Samsung Life Insurance demanding stronger climate …

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 …

On September 7, 2023, leading global insurance company Allianz published its first Net Zero Transition Plan.  Peter Bosshard, Global Network Coordinator of the Insure Our Future campaign commented: Allianz’s transition plan is transparent, comprehensive, timely and in many ways ambitious but contains serious gaps when it comes to new gas infrastructure. If Allianz closes these loopholes, its transition …

London, 5 September 2023, first published in The Insurer – Lloyd’s of London, one of the world’s largest insurers of fossil fuels, has said it will comment more expansively on ESG guidance in September 2023. It is anticipated to be a further distancing from Lloyd’s first ESG policy, published in December 2020, and another textbook …

FAIRBANKS, AK – An update to the Gwich’in Steering Committee (GSC) insurance industry scorecard released today reports 20 insurers now have a policy that protects Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit (“The Sacred Place Where Life Begins”) from oil and gas development. The scorecard tracks global insurance companies’ policies on fossil fuel development in the coastal plain of the Arctic …

Tokyo, 2 August 2023, Joint Statement via Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Kiko Network, Friends of the Earth Japan, 350.org Japan, Mekong Watch and Insure Our Future – Three major Japanese non-life insurers (Tokio Marine Holdings, SOMPO Holdings and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings), which left the UN-led Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (hereinafter …

Paris, 28 July 2023 via Reclaim Finance – French insurer AXA has announced it will no longer cover new gas fields, becoming the 10th insurer to make such a commitment (1). But AXA has not gone as far as some of its peers, allowing exceptions for companies it considers to be “in transition”. Reclaim Finance …

Dropping the obligation to set emission reduction targets will turn the NZIA into an empty shell In a statement published on July 5, UNEP announced that the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) will no longer require its members to set and publish targets for reducing their insured emissions (1). This will reduce the NZIA to …

This week, facing mounting pressure from campaigners, Lloyd’s of London syndicate, Probitas1492, ruled out providing insurance for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine and its related infrastructure.  Probitas was known to insure the mine’s transport system, but also admitted that the mine itself had been insured through the Lloyd’s of London marketplace. Ash Bathia, Chief Executive Officer …

St. Gallen, 30 July 2023 – Helvetia, one of the biggest Swiss insurance companies, has adopted a new fossil fuel policy which excludes cover for new coal and extreme oil projects and excludes investments in coal, oil and gas companies which are still expanding their production. Through a massive loophole, the policy however allows Helvetia …

On 26 June 2023, citizens and environmental NGOs gathered in front of the AGM venue of Tokio Marine Holdings; Japan’s biggest and one of the world’s top 10 oil and gas insurers.  #StopEACOP activists question Tokio Marine’s ethics  Risa Iizuka, a youth activist and Field Organizer at 350.org Japan, condemned the 1,400km-long  East African Crude …

The insurance sector is the Achilles’ heel of the fossil fuel industry  Without insurance, fossil fuel companies cannot operate and fossil fuel projects cannot be built or maintained.   This is why we, at Mothers Rise Up, a UK climate-parent group, focus our creative energy on the insurance sector, particularly on the world’s oldest, biggest and …

Washington D.C., 9 June 2023 –  The Senate Budget Committee today called on insurance giants American Insurance Group, Inc. (AIG), Chubb Corp, Liberty Mutual Group, Starr Wright USA, Berkshire Hathaway, State Farm, and Travelers Insurance to disclose their coverage for and investments in fossil fuels and information on how each insurer respects human rights. The Committee’s letter, …

Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and fellow Committee members Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Sanders (I-VT) launched an investigation into how the U.S. insurance industry evaluates climate-related risks, decides to invest in or underwrite fossil fuel expansion projects that drive such risks, and prices policies that insure such projects. In letters sent to AIG, Berkshire …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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”. 

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Originally published in ESG Investor on February 9, 2023 Since activist short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of “pulling the largest con in corporate history” on 25 January, the value of the world’s biggest private developer of new coal has been in free fall. The exposure of Adani’s fraud sheds an embarrassing light on organisations – …

The following letter was submitted by five environmental NGOs to 50 financial institutions that are major shareholders of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings. The full version including tables and appendices are available below. January 18, 2023 Dear Shareholders of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, A Request to Engage with MS&AD to Stop Underwriting Fossil Fuel Projects Japan …

1​7​ January 2023 – The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) Target-Setting Protocol, launched today at the World Economic Forum, lacks ambition and opens the door to corporate greenwashing according to the Insure Our Future campaign. ​​​​​The protocol is supposed to set targets for the underwriting portfolios of the 29 insurance and reinsurance NZIA members to align …

Leaders of some of the world’s biggest insurance companies including Lloyd’s of London, AIG, Swiss Re and Allianz, will find out if they have been naughty or nice when they receive a specially selected Christmas gift from the climate action group, Mothers Rise Up, today. The CEO’s of six insurance companies – Lloyd’s of London …

Global wind power capacity must grow eight- and solar capacity five-fold by 2030 so we can limit global warming to 1.5°C, the International Renewable Energy Agency has found. Scaling up the renewable energy sector is all the more urgent in order to replace Russian fossil fuels with wind and solar rather than new oil and …

Korean Reinsurance begins its move away from coal but too slowly, according to civil society  December 6, 2022 – Asia’s second-largest reinsurance company, Korean Re, will no longer be providing reinsurance for new coal mining or power plant construction from next month.   Reinsurance functions as insurance for insurance companies. If reinsurers restrict insurance coverage of …

Arch Capital Group Ltd and AEGIS London join the 19 (re)insurance companies ruling out the controversial East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. Arch Capital Group Ltd responded to ongoing pressure on their insurance business by ruling out insurance for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). A statement issued by the company follows sustained …

In making Scope 3 emissions reporting optional, the PCAF-NZIA protocol violates Race to Zero and UNHLEG recommendations London – Today the Platform for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) published their long-awaited Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Standard for the insurance industry. Under the minimum criteria of the UN Race to …

An industry willing to sacrifice a livable planet • 96% of upstream oil and gas companies are still expanding their operations. • GOGEL is the first tool that makes it possible to systematically assess whether companies are in line with the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions scenario. • LNG terminals under development would more than double …

As decision-makers converge in Egypt for the annual climate talks at COP, major new reports warn that we’re at risk of triggering irreversible tipping points in our Earth’s system without rapid and concerted action right now. This year has been a litany of climate disasters ravaging communities, while oil and gas companies are reaping tens …

Monday 24 Oct 2022 – As the global reinsurance sector meets to discuss annual re/insurance contract renewals in Baden-Baden, the Insure Our Future campaign calls on the assembled reinsurers to stop fueling climate catastrophe by underwriting coal, oil and gas production and instead support a rapid transition to renewable energy. Munich Re reported that climate …

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 …

As climate change spirals out of control, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and expensive. Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurance company, reports that natural disasters caused losses of $280 billion in 2021, up from $166 billion in 2019 and $210 billion in 2020. The insurance industry was created to manage risk, but under pressure …

Insure Our Future sent an open letter to sustainability and public policy managers of European insurers about the campaign’s concerns regarding the approach taken by the Solvency II Rapporteur MEP Markus Ferber, who has attempted to have all sustainability criteria removed from Solvency II.

On 30 September 2022, Tokio Marine, Japan’s biggest international insurer, updated its climate policy to rule out new underwriting and investment in tar sands mining and oil and gas explorations in the Arctic areas. While Insure our Future welcomes the company’s commitment to stop supporting some extreme fossil fuels projects, considering its presence in the …

Today, Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, has taken a major step away from oil and gas. Munich Re has committed that as of 1 April 2023 it will no longer invest in or insure contracts/projects exclusively covering the planning, financing, construction or operation of new oil and gas fields, new midstream oil infrastructure and …

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 …

A group of mums unfurled a huge banner at today’s England – India cricket match challenging Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chair of Marylebone Cricket Club and Lloyd’s of London – one the world’s biggest insurers of fossil fuels – to take ambitious climate action. The 9 metre banner – with the message ‘Bruce: Fossil Fuels are just …

From 23-26 October, underwriters and brokers from the global reinsurance industry will meet at the annual Baden-Baden reinsurance meeting in Germany to negotiate new reinsurance contracts. Given the foundational and decisive role of the reinsurance industry in enabling fossil fuel extraction, the Baden-Baden meeting deserves critical attention. Looking at the dynamics of the 2022 Baden-Baden …

Recent media reports in The Independent and Nile Post suggest that the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has been fully insured and reinsured with local firms through the Insurance Consortium for Oil and Gas in Uganda (ICOG). The #StopEACOP campaign believes this information is misleading—numerous official documents indicate (and standard practice in the industry …

Talanx, Germany’s third largest insurer, is the latest (re)insurance company to confirm to the #StopEACOP Coalition that they will not (re)insure the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). They join 11 other (re)insurers, including 4 of the world’s biggest (re)insurance companies – Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, and SCOR. Talanx follows fast in the …

Insurance providers Argo Group and Axis Capital, both Lloyd’s of London members, and RSA Insurance Group Limited, a leading UK insurer, have informed the #StopEACOP coalition that they will not be involved in underwriting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. The decision by the three firms brings the total number of (re)insurers who …

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance will not phase out existing underwriting of insurance for coal-powered projects, despite financial and climate concerns, according to their latest ESG reports. South Korea’s largest general insurers Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (Samsung FMI) and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance (Hyundai MFI) announced it …

American International Group (AIG), Berkshire Hathaway, Travelers, and Chubb are among the ten insurers that collectively invested over $59.7 billion in fossil fuels in 2019, finds an analysis released today by Insure Our Future, Public Citizen, and Rainforest Action Network. The report analyses 2019 data released in April 2022 by the California Department of Insurance to …

In May 2022, an investigative news article revealed that Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker, is approaching insurers and trying to convince them to provide insurance coverage to build the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). EACOP would be the world’s longest heated oil pipeline, which Total Energies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation …

Sompo joins NZIA, but must meet new Race to Zero Criteria Today, a day after its Annual General Meeting, Sompo, one of the top three Japanese non-life insurers, became the first Asian insurer to rule out insurance and investment in coal companies and companies involved in energy exploitation in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sompo …

Risk management is at the heart of insurers’ business. Yet we find that insurers are still not adequately considering – and are in fact actively compounding – the greatest risk humanity faces today: climate change and its irreversible consequences. This briefing compares insurers’ words with their actions. It shows that even members of voluntary initiatives, …

In March 2022, Mapfre, one of Europe’s largest insurers and the largest non-life insurer in Latin America, published its renewed environmental commitments during its Annual General Meeting. The International Institute for Law and Environment (IIDMA), which analysed in 2021 the Group’s activities as part of a broader study on the insurance sector’s relationship with climate change, has reviewed …

Mothers created a song and dance extravaganza outside Lloyd’s of London HQ today (Monday 13 June 2022) to urge the insurance giant to stop jeopardising children’s futures by underwriting damaging fossil fuel projects. It was a protest like no other, with Mary Poppins meeting climate action. The action comes just a few weeks after a …

Insurance contracts obtained by the Insure Our Future campaign show how utilities are struggling to find companies to underwrite new coal power projects, reveals a report Exposed: The Coal Insurers of Last Resort. Details of which companies insure which projects are rarely disclosed, so the contracts for KEPCO, Korea’s national power utility, give a unique snapshot …

Inexperienced insurers now underwriting operating coal plants as mainstream companies increasingly exit market Utilities are struggling to find insurance to build new coal power outside China, finds a report released today by the Insure Our Future campaign and Korean non-profit Solutions for Our Climate, which have obtained documents providing a rare snapshot of the state of …

All of Samsung’s financial subsidiaries, including Samsung Fire & Marine, adopted one of the most concrete coal-exit policies in South Korea   South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung will commit all of its financial subsidiaries to stop investing in coal companies, a new database of South Korean financial institutions’ climate policies revealed Thursday. As the country’s …

Today, Sompo, one of the top three Japanese non-life insurers, updated its coal policy. Sompo committed to stop underwriting and investing in new and existing coal-fired power plants and coal mines, and new tar sands and energy exploration projects in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Sompo is the first Japanese insurer to rule out …

Lloyd’s of London published its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report two days ahead of its Annual General Meeting on May 19. Lloyd’s second ESG report is a document almost completely lacking in substance which does more to obscure the climate destroying actions of its members than to shed light on how it intends …

Today, SCOR, the 4th biggest reinsurer in the world, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where its CEO Laurent Rousseau took the opportunity to announce SCOR’s first underwriting exclusions on oil. While committing to no longer underwrite new oil projects is a good first step, these restrictions fail to cover gas and are thus inconsistent …

Originally published in Environmental-Finance on May 17, 2022. Laurent Rousseau, who was appointed Chief Executive Officer of SCOR almost a year ago, will meet his shareholders for the first time on 18 May. At a time when many insurers, as society’s risk managers, are not fulfilling their responsibility to actively support global action to avoid …

Parent groups, Mothers Rise Up and Parents For Future UK, are calling on Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chair of Lloyd’s of London and a father of four, to stop insuring the world’s most damaging fossil fuel projects. A group of UK mums will meet with Carnegie-Brown on May 17, ahead of Lloyd’s AGM and hold a Father’s …

On the occasion of the Annual General Meetings (AGM) of Hannover Re (4 May) and its parent company Talanx (5 May), the environmental organisation urgewald, together with Dachverband der Kritischen Aktionär*innen (an association of critical shareholders), is calling on Talanx to take ambitious climate action. Talanx subsidiary Hannover Re announced in March that it would …

Number of insurers ruling out Trans Mountain continues to grow, following a year of climate impacts along the pipeline route and continued pressure from activists. Trans Mountain insurer and Lloyd’s of London syndicate Arch Insurance has committed to no longer insure the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline after its current insurance policy expires this summer. …

Today, Allianz, currently one of the world’s biggest oil and gas insurers, committed to stop insuring and investing in new oil and gas fields, new oil power plants, practices related to the Arctic and new midstream oil infrastructure as of January 2023, and will not renew existing contracts for such projects as of July 1, …

Feeding the fossil monster or clean energy? In this report by Insure Our Future member Re-set – a Czech organization that uses research, education and public engagement to support efforts for a more sustainable and just society – the policies of six major insurers in the Czech Republic [ČSOB pojišťovna, Generali Česká pojišťovna, Allianz, Kooperativa, …

World’s largest reinsurer must align its policies with climate science, say Urgewald and Dachverband der Kritischen Aktionär*innen ahead of its Annual General Meeting Ahead of Munich Re’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 28, the environmental and human rights organization Urgewald, as a member of the international campaign network Insure our Future, together with the …

The world’s third-largest electronics giant claims to be an innovative technology leader but faces global scrutiny on Earth Day over its over-reliance on fossil fuels   More than forty global environmental organisations sent a letter to the Samsung Group, urging the company to stop fuelling climate change and set more ambitious climate measures. The letter was delivered …

Aspen joins sixteen companies that have ruled out insuring Trans Mountain Trans Mountain insurer and Lloyd’s of London syndicate Aspen Insurance has pledged to cut ties with the existing Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline when its current insurance policy expires this summer. Aspen joins sixteen insurance companies that have dropped Trans Mountain or vowed not …

Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, is being called on by campaigners from Insure Our Future for its failure to rule out oil and gas insurance, despite its competitors adopting exit policies in recent weeks. Munich Re has demonstrated a willingness to act on climate, but its steps are far too small for the urgency …

Allianz, one of the world’s largest oil and gas insurers, is the seventh insurer to commit not to insure the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), following recent statements from Munich Re, Hannover Re and SCOR. In an email to campaigners from, #StopEACOP, Inclusive Development International and Insure Our Future, Allianz stated: “Allianz is not …

Today, Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, has rejected the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), joining Hannover Re, SCOR, Swiss Re, Axa, and Zurich in publicly committing that they will not underwrite the pipeline. In a statement on their website, Munich Re wrote that: “… we have not insured the East African Crude Oil …

One day before Zurich’s Annual General Assembly, the campaign organization Campax denounces the climate policy of Zurich Insurance with a giant floating banner. The banner, which reads “stop insuring oil and gas projects,” was pulled across Lake Zurich to Zurich Group’s headquarters in Zurich Enge.  This morning at 7:00 a.m., a sailboat full of climate …

Every year – usually in the Spring – financial institutions, like banks, insurance companies, and investors, gather for Annual General Meetings (AGMs) with interested shareholders to discuss company performance, returns on investment, and future strategy. But we know what their future strategy should be: immediately stop insuring and investing in new fossil fuels – and …

Nearly 100 civil society organizations working to advance human rights and environmental justice sent a letter to the Chairman and CEO of Lloyd’s of London asking that they tell their members not to provide (re)insurance coverage for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.  Citing a range of severe risks and controversies surrounding the …

Munich Re and Lloyd’s of London need to follow their European counterparts and reject the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Hannover Re is the latest insurer to reject EACOP, joining Swiss Re, Axa, Zurich and SCOR in publicly committing that they will not underwrite the pipeline. Last week, after SCOR committed not to insure …

Ahead of UK Mother’s Day (Sunday 27th March), a group of mothers from Mothers Rise Up and Parents For Future UK, have reiterated their call on Bruce Carnegie-Brown and the leadership of Lloyd’s of London to stop insuring dangerous fossil fuels, and to insure their children’s futures instead.   Earlier today, they handed over a collection …

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 …

As major insurers say no to providing coverage for the highly controversial East African Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the pressure is mounting on Munich Re, Lloyd’s of London and others that have yet to comment on their potential involvement.  French multinational (re)insurance company SCOR is the latest global insurer to commit not to provide coverage for …

A tool to detect greenwashing practices in the finance sector Reclaim Finance and more than 15 NGOs launch the “Oil and Gas Policy Tracker” (OGPT). The tool is the first of its kind: it assesses in great detail the oil and gas exclusion policies (or lack thereof) of the 150 biggest financial institutions worldwide. The …

Today, Swiss Re, the world’s second largest reinsurer, announced an enhanced oil and gas policy which brings new momentum to the insurance industry’s shift away from fossil fuels. Insure Our Future welcomes that Swiss Re is the first major oil and gas insurer to adopt a policy for the sector which excludes insurance for most …

Insure Our Future welcomes Hannover Re’s updated oil and gas re/insurance policy and its exclusions on new oil and gas development transport and storage. This policy goes a long way towards implementing the findings of the IEA and it indicates to other insurers and financial institutions the big urgent steps required. The need to also …

Tomorrow, at its Annual General Meeting, MAPFRE, one of Europe’s largest insurers and the largest non-life insurer in Latin America, will adopt a significantly updated climate policy. Insure Our Future welcomes MAPFRE’s commitment that it “will not insure [or invest in] coal, gas and oil companies that do not commit to an energy transition plan …

27 NGOs, as part of the Insure Our Future network, sent the following letter to insurance and reinsurance company CEOs on March 10, 2022 Dear insurance/reinsurance company CEO, The impacts of climate change are becoming ever more tangible and severe. July 2021 was the hottest month humanity has ever recorded and the last seven years have …

In solidarity with Ukraine, a coalition of NGOs and groups around the world have sent a letter calling on financial institutions most exposed to Russian oil, gas, and coal to cease all ties with these companies, and to stop propping up Putin’s illegal war on Ukraine.  Over 75 organisations, including Reclaim Finance, BankTrack, Stand.earth, Greenpeace, …

Insurance giant rules out support for new coal, tar sands, and Arctic energy exploration projects and commits to Net Zero emissions by 2050 for underwriting and investments WASHINGTON, D.C. – American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) today announced major new company-wide climate commitments, including commitments to no longer provide underwriting and investments in the construction …

Meeting reveals Neal’s failure to understand the need to stop insuring fossil fuel expansion On February 16, Insure Our Future network members challenged John Neal, CEO of Lloyd’s of London, on the insurer’s fossil fuel policies and actions in a long awaited, but ultimately very disappointing, on-the-record meeting at Lloyd’s Lime Street headquarters. The meeting …

On February 8, 2022, five Environmental NGOs sent the request letter to 62 financial institutions which seem to be holding SOMPO’s stock. Dear SOMPO Holdings Shareholders, Request to engage with SOMPO to urge the company to stop underwriting fossil fuel projects Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES) Kiko Network Friends of the Earth …

Policy demonstrates major movement among U.S.  insurers on coal and early movement on tar sands; Travelers is 6th North American company to restrict underwriting for coal and 3rd for tar sands HARTFORD, CT (February 7, 2022)—Insurance giant Travelers adopted a policy commiting to not underwrite new coal-fired power plants. It also committed not to underwrite …

Since 2019, 15 of the world’s biggest insurers’ invested over 7.9 billion USD in oil and gas companies which have current and/or planned operations in the North Sea, finds research conducted by Profundo and published by The Ferret. Despite removing coverage and raising premiums for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, insurers continue …

Korean insurers have stopped providing coverage for the construction and operation of new coal-fired power plants finds new report A majority of financial institutions in South Korea failed to meet global standards of divestment from coal, Solutions for Our Climate said in its Wave of Coal Exit Pledges in 2021, Still Lacking Effective Policies issue …

AXA, Liberty Mutual, and others also implicated in Brazil’s oil expansion plans, despite the IEA’s warnings that limiting warming to 1.5°C requires an end to all fossil fuel expansion Global insurance companies Chubb, MAPFRE, and Tokio Marine insure the majority of Brazil’s offshore oil and gas drilling, according to a report entitled Fueling Climate Change: …

Global insurance companies Chubb, MAPFRE, and Tokio Marine insure the majority of Brazil’s offshore oil and gas drilling, according to a report entitled Fueling Climate Change: The Insurers Behind Brazil’s Offshore Oil Expansion released by Insure Our Future. Based on previously undisclosed documents, the report finds that these three companies insure Brazil’s national oil company …

On the same day that Insure Our Future leaked Lloyd’s ESG guidance, Client Earth published a letter to Lloyd’s critiquing the inadequacy of this guidance. This letter to Lloyd’s sets out why Lloyd’s ESG guidance is wholly inadequate to set the Lloyd’s market on a science-based pathway to net zero. In particular, the guidance: Is …

Insure Our Future exposes Lloyd’s roll-back of its stated climate policies and a blatant case of ESG policy greenwashing UPDATE: Following the leaked copy of its ESG Guidelines and a letter from Client Earth that critiqued Lloyd’s lack of transparency, Lloyd’s has now published the Guidelines on its own website. Lloyd’s now needs to make …

Mothers have created an alternative advent calendar for Lloyd’s Chair Bruce Carnegie-Brown to highlight the impact of the climate crisis and urge the company to stop insuring fossil fuels. The calendar was hand delivered by three of the mothers to Lloyd’s of London on 30th November.  The calendar is based on themed advent calendars which …

Zurich’s new greenfield oil policy allows the insurer to continue business as usual on oil and gas expansion, and its Arctic and tar sands policy only excludes an estimated 10.4% of short term oil and gas expansion plans, finds Insure Our Future (1). Today, Zurich announced that it will no longer insure new greenfield oil …

New report argues UK insurance sector currently facilitates the climate crisis but with bold reform it can play a key role in delivering a safe climate pathway By supporting the continuation of extraction and emissions, the insurance industry plays a central role in facilitating economic activity that fuels climate and environmental breakdown. The UK plays …

In October 2021, the Society of Lloyd’s (the “Society”) announced a new commitment for the Lloyd’s market to achieve net-zero emission by 2050. However, the Society has not published the detail of the action it is asking market participants to take to meet that commitment. That detail was included in ESG guidance issued to Lloyd’s …

Insuring Our Future: The 2021 Scorecard on Insurance, Fossil Fuels and Climate Change, focuses on 30 of the world’s top insurers. It is published by 26 organizations from 14 countries and will be launched today at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. Insure Our Future’s fifth annual report on the insurance industry’s response to …

Coal industry nearly uninsurable as U.S. & Bermuda companies provide last lifeline  The global insurance industry is undermining efforts to meet climate targets by continuing to support new oil and gas production, the Insure Our Future campaign reveals today in its fifth annual scorecard on insurers’ climate policies. Only three insurers, France’s AXA, Italy’s Generali, …

Three days before COP26, AXA announced a new oil and gas policy which is both an important first step and a big missed opportunity. ​​AXA is the first major fossil fuel insurer to adopt an oil and gas policy, and the document contains new restrictions on extreme oil and gas sources such as fracking, Arctic …

AXA committed to developing an energy policy this year, and now it needs to decide whether to rule out all cover for new oil and gas projects. The French insurer’s upcoming policy is a test on whether we can trust the voluntary efforts of corporate social responsibility to address climate risks or whether we need …

Campaigners call out AXA for climate hypocrisy Campaigners from the Insure Our Future coalition, Reclaim Finance and SumofUs are calling out AXA ahead of COP26 for failing to take climate leadership on ruling out oil and gas insurance. With a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times, an open letter, and a global petition, climate campaigners are …

Letter sent to AXA’s CEO Thomas Buberl: The credibility of your climate leadership is on the line Dear Mr. Buberl, Under your leadership, AXA has played a pioneering role in taking climate action within the insurance industry for many years. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) has just found in its World Energy Outlook, climate …

On Sunday, October 17th and Monday, October 18th, climate campaigners from a number of groups, including the Insure Our Future campaign, Parents for Future and Fridays for Future, gathered to call on attendees of the Baden-Baden Reinsurance Conference to rule out coal from all reinsurance, including treaty reinsurance, to stop insuring all new oil and …

The world’s biggest reinsurance companies are slowly moving away from reinsuring coal projects and companies. In March 2021, Swiss Re, one of the world’s biggest reinsurance companies, made a commitment to gradually eliminate coal from its treaty reinsurance.  Since June 2021, Munich Re, Hannover Re and SCOR, which together with Swiss Re make four of …

In its new World Energy Outlook (WEO), the International Energy Agency (IEA) confirmed the conclusion of its May 2021 Net Zero by 2050 report. The IEA found that in a Net-Zero Emissions scenario – the main normative scenario of the WEO – “no fossil fuel exploration is required and no new oil and natural gas …

Today, members of the Insure Our Future network and other social movements sent an open letter to insurers of energy network operator Gasunie, the company planning to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Brunsbüttel, Northern Germany.  The letter was sent to Munich Re, AXA, HDI / Talanx, Zurich Insurance Group, AIG Europe, SCOR, …

Fifteen insurers have ruled out Trans Mountain – coalition pledges to continue pressuring the remaining companies Today, Indigenous, environmental, and climate groups sent an open letter to twenty insurance companies that have failed to rule out insuring the Trans Mountain pipeline network, following the August 31 expiration date of one of Trans Mountain’s key insurance …

As the climate crisis becomes ever more tangible, insurers are rapidly exiting coal. Australian coal companies have now developed a plan to self-insure the massive risks of their operations. The scheme smacks of desperation. More than 30 major insurance companies from around the world have adopted policies to no longer insure new coal projects and …

Lloyd’s syndicate member Cincinnati Global is now 15th insurer to commit to not insure or reinsure the existing Trans Mountain pipeline or expansion project Lloyd’s of London syndicate Cincinnati Global Underwriting has ruled out insuring the existing Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline and the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. Cincinnati Global, a subsidiary of Cincinnati Financial, …

Lloyd’s of London released its climate action roadmap. While it includes some welcome steps, Lloyd’s falls short of tackling its role in the climate crisis.

The Insure Our Future network cautiously welcomes the UNEP Net Zero Insurance Alliance’s (NZIA’s) ‘Statement of commitment by signatory companies’, but calls on the NZIA founding members – AXA (NZIA Chair), Allianz, Aviva, Generali, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group – to demonstrate this commitment by immediately excluding new oil and gas …

Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has released its first coal policy. While implementing a coal policy was an important first step for the asset manager, the policy does not meet the standards needed for effective coal exclusion.

With the publication of the new Generali Group Strategy on Climate Change, Assicurazioni Generali finally acknowledges the requests of ReCommon and Greenpeace Italy, adopting a decarbonisation plan. It was more than 3 years ago that the two associations started to push Generali to stop its financial support of coal. The most relevant element of the …

Ahead of its annual general meeting held this morning, Scor, 4th biggest reinsurer worldwide, announced that it will finally apply a policy to its reinsurance treaties, representing 75% of its subscription activities, and committed to phase out coal for all its activities within a Paris-aligned timeline. Reclaim Finance praises these first announcements, despite the urgent need to elaborate on …

On Friday June 25th, MS&AD, one of the top three Japanese non-life insurers, adopted a policy to no longer insure or invest in new coal power plants, becoming the first Japanese insurer to make this move. The policy follows on the heels of similar announcements by four Korean insurers on June 21, isolating Tokio Marine, …

Founded by industry veteran Stephen Catlin in London and Bermuda two years ago, Convex Insurance quickly gained international prominence. The company has gained the trust of customers and investors, created more than 300 jobs and brought a strong team together. Convex and its principal founder often emphasize values like fairness, dignity, respect and a long-term …

Top Korean non-life insurers DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, and Hana Insurance, which have provided nearly half of the total US$52 bn coal underwritings by Korean insurance companies — say no more insurance for both construction and operations of coal plants Following the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s call on insurance …

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 …

Mums, dads and children made a Father’s Day appeal to Lloyd’s of London Chairman, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, to stop insuring fossil fuels at a protest outside the companies’ London headquarters today.   The parents delivered a giant oil drum of dead flowers and an oversized Father’s Day card to Carnegie-Brown in a direct appeal to the …

Following the publication by Total of a tender for insurance / reinsurance brokerage services for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), an international coalition of organisations is calling upon leading re/insurance brokers to reject the tender and not to support the project due to its anticipated climate, nature and human impacts. EACOP threatens the …

In November 2020, Samsung Fire & Marine became the first major Asian insurance company to publicly announce an end to insuring new coal-fired power plants. However, recent coal insurance data from Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (KEPCO’s) subsidiaries indicates Samsung F&M remains the biggest coal insurer questioning the validity and effectiveness of its coal policy.  2020 …

In his closing speech at the Insurance Development Forum Summit, Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, called for the phase out of fossil fuel insurance. Guterres’ full speech can be found here. A key excerpt is included below:  

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 …

Lloyd’s syndicate member Argo joins more than 10 other insurers that will not insure Trans Mountain, citing no “risk appetite” for tar sands pipelines. Trans Mountain insurer and Lloyd’s of London syndicate Argo Group has pledged to cut ties with the existing Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline when its current insurance policy expires on August …

Today, climate campaigners from across the world call on insurance giants AIG, Lloyd’s of London and Tokio Marine to immediately stop insuring and investing in coal. The Insure Our Future network placed a full-page ad in the Financial Times calling out the insurance laggards as climate groups in Japan, South Korea, United States and the …

Dear EU Commission, With regard to the ongoing review of the prudential regulation of the insurance sector. Insure Our Future is an international network of NGOs, which – for the past 5 years – are working to persuade the (re)insurance sector to act responsibly with regard to their climate impact. The insurance sector is caught …

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 …

Following the update to Vienna Insurance Group’s (VIG) climate policy this week, climate campaigners denounce the insurer’s continued lack of clarity on the application of its coal policy and its silence on oil and gas. This morning at 9:00am CET, Campaigners from #aufstehn held a protest at VIG’s Annual General Meeting with a banner outside …

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 …

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, …

Insurance companies Allianz, Generali, and Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) continue to insure Czech coal companies despite pledged coal policies. Report by researchers from Re-Set, a Czech civil society organisation, finds that the insurers are underwriting climate-wrecking coal power plants and derailing decarbonisation both in Czech republic and the EU as a whole. The report, Betting …

22 NGOs, as part of the Insure Our Future network, sent the following letter to insurance and reinsurance company CEOs on April 15 DearMadam/Sir, The climate crisis is escalating. In 2020 the planet experienced the warmest year on record (tied with 2016) as well as a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, a record number of climate …

Confronted with the heat of targeted advocacy by climate justice campaigners as well as Indigenous Peoples’ rights movements, Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK, identified with Lloyd’s Syndicates 510, 557 and 1880) has publicly committed to not participate in ‘any future underwriting’ of Adani’s controversial Carmichael coal mine in Australia. Earlier this month, when Lloyd’s syndicate MS …

The Insure our Future network increases pressure on Lloyd’s with the launch of a website calling on the insurer to strengthen its ESG policy and stop insuring coal and new oil and gas projects that exacerbate climate change. Lloydsinsureourfuture.com provides a gateway to action for the growing global network of organisations and individuals, including Lloyd’s …

On April 7, campaign organisation Campax denounces the climate policy of Zurich Insurance with a 10×13 meter banner hung outside the insurance giant’s headquarters that reads “Zurich stop insuring oil and gas projects” just hours before its annual general meeting. The climate activists are demanding Zurich’s withdrawal from the oil and gas business. Zurich Group …

A few weeks before Generali’s shareholder meeting, scheduled for April 29, Re:Common and Greenpeace Italia release an Italian publication and English brief which shows that Generali is one of the key players in supporting the European coal sector, particularly in countries that still strongly depend on the most polluting of fossil fuels: Poland, the Czech …

PZU, the biggest financial group in Central and Eastern Europe with presence in Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, released a weak new strategy for 2021 to 2024. With consolidated assets of close to 85 billion euros at the end of 2020, PZU remains the biggest EU-based insurer with no coal investment nor underwriting restrictions, …

As the Olympics Torch Relay kicks off in Japan, actions in Tokyo, Seoul, Delhi, Jakarta, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Melbourne demand Tokio Marine take climate action Starting March 25, actions around the world mark the global launch of a campaign calling on insurance giant Tokio Marine to stop underwriting and investing in fossil …

Over 30 leading groups and individuals campaigning for action on climate change have written to insurance giant Lloyd’s of London demanding that it end support for the Bahamas Petroleum Company to conduct an offshore oil drilling scheme in the pristine waters of The Bahamas. The open letter, which was coordinated by global campaign group SumOfUs …

The Insure Our Future network welcomes AIA’s divestment from coal, and calls on other Asian life insurers to follow AIA’s lead. In its new 2020 ESG report, AIA commits to do the following: AIA will divest and/or run off their entire directly managed equity and fixed income exposure to coal mining and coal-fired power businesses …

Swiss Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, announced new climate targets, including plans for the reinsurer to completely phase-out thermal coal from its treaty business by 2030 (OECD) and 2040 (rest of the world). If implemented properly, this policy shift marks a breakthrough for the reinsurance industry. The Insure Our Future network wrote in early March …

MAPFRE commits to stop insuring new tar sands, Arctic drilling & coal infrastructure, but remains silent on insurance of other oil and gas expansion Today at its Annual General Meeting, MAPFRE, Spain’s largest non-life insurer and one of Europe’s biggest insurers, formally adopted new commitments to exclude tar sands and Arctic oil & gas production …

Urgewald released a report highlighting the European insurance industry’s role in supporting gas infrastructure. The paper, released as part of the Insure Our Future campaign, names Allianz, Talanx, AXA, Generali and Munich Re as key insurers to big fossil gas projects in recent years, such as the Świnoujście, Zeebrugge and Dunkirk liquefied natural gas (LNG) …

Major Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate Brit has committed to never directly insure the Carmichael Coal Project and to not renew insurance involving any associated aspects of the project, most likely referring to the rail line. In an email to Insure Our Future, Brit stated:  Brit does not, has never, and will not write any …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

On December 17, Lloyd’s of London released its Environmental, Social and Governance Report which, amongst other commitments, asks Lloyd’s managing agents to no longer provide new insurance cover for coal-fired power plants, thermal coal mines, oil sands and new arctic energy exploration. Insure Our Future welcomes this as a step in the right direction, but …

December 12, 2020 – On the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, Thomas Buberl, the CEO of the AXA Group, proposed the creation of a Net-Zero Underwriting Alliance (NZUA). The Insure Our Future campaign welcomed the proposal as a sign that insurers are increasingly accepting responsibility for the emissions of the projects they are underwriting. …

The 2020 Scorecard finds that Insurers’ continued retreat from coal is making it harder and more expensive to secure insurance for coal projects. Although momentum is growing, it falls short of what is needed to drive action to meet international climate targets. Major companies in the U.S., the Lloyd’s market and East Asia are still …

Laggards in U.S., Asia and Lloyd’s Market slow global progress Insurers’ continued retreat from coal is making it harder and more expensive to secure insurance for coal projects, the Insure Our Future campaign revealed in its fourth annual scorecard on insurers’ climate policies. Although momentum is growing, it falls short of what is needed to …

AIA, one of the world’s largest life insurers and shirt sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur, is undermining its pledge to support climate action and help customers lead healthy lives by investing billions of dollars in coal companies, reveals the report. More than 65 insurers worldwide have divested from coal, but AIA has placed no restrictions on …

The race towards an exit from the coal sector among East Asia’s major powers is picking up speed. Responding to similar announcement from China and Japan, the Korean government committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 at the end of October. With a surprise announcement from Samsung, it seems Korean companies are now starting to extend …

Adani’s Insurer and Lloyd’s of London syndicate Apollo has dropped Adani’s Carmichael coal project following pressure from the climate campaigners and the #StopAdani movement. Apollo confirmed that the insurer will not provide cover for Adani’s coal mine, rail project or coal port after their current construction policy terminates in September 2021. The syndicate also revealed …

Climate campaigners from the Stop Adani campaign and Pacific Climate Warriors joined forces October 27 and 28 to call on Lloyd’s of London and its members to follow the lead of 23 major insurance companies, including several Lloyd’s syndicates, and stop insuring Adani’s Carmichael coal project in Australia. If built, Adani’s Carmichael mine will, amongst …

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 …

Today, Tokyo-based MS&AD Insurance Group, one of the world’s top-10 insurers, released its position on underwriting coal power projects as part of its updated plan on sustainable business principles. Like its counterparts Tokio Marine and Sompo, MS&AD’s position is a misleading attempt to brand itself as sustainable.  The newly adopted MS&AD corporate statement on sustainable …

Today, Japan’s Tokio Marine, one of the world’s top-10 coal insurers, published a position on coal as part of a climate strategy. Tokio Marine’s position follows on the heels of a statement Tokyo-based insurance company, Sompo, announced last week on limiting the underwriting of construction of new domestic coal power projects. The Japanese insurer’s new …

Today, Sompo became the first Japanese insurance company to adopt a position on coal. According to the position, Sompo “will not insure and invest in new construction of coal-fired power plant in Japan, except for projects for which underwriting, investment and financing has already been expressed”. However, this commitment comes with significant loopholes: Sompo will …

Climate finance experts have revealed the major loopholes in hundreds of financial institutions’ coal policies which they say could lead to the expansion of the coal industry and prevent the world from exiting coal on time if left unchecked. They also expose the banks, insurers, asset owners and asset managers with no restrictions on coal at all. …

Today, in an activity that marks the launch of a global campaign, Insure Our Future takes global climate concerns to Lloyd’s of London’s front door as it reopens its underwriting hall. As insurance professionals enter the building, campaigners welcome them with the message that Lloyd’s market must ‘wash its hands of coal and tar sands’ …

Lloyd’s of London provides insurance and reinsurance that supports, enables and provides cover for some of the world’s worst fossil fuel projects, including coal mines, tar sands pipelines and new oil & gas exploration, which are incompatible with keeping climate change under 1.5°C. Lloyd’s provides a significant portion of the global energy market insurance and …

Earlier this year, risk experts at the World Economic Forum identified the failure to address climate change as the most impactful – and sadly, the second-most likely – risk we face. It’s a risk the insurance industry must play its part in tackling. The sector itself may not emit a significant quantity of greenhouse gases. …

Insurer Talanx has dropped support for Canada’s controversial Trans Mountain pipeline while Munich Re’s support is in doubt after it unveiled a new tar sands policy earlier this year, reveal emails to Canadian NGO Stand.earth. Subsidiaries of both companies were named on Trans Mountain’s current Certificate of Insurance, which lists 11 companies providing $508 million …

Insurers must end all support for new oil and gas projects in order to meet international climate targets, NGOs supporting the Unfriend Coal / Insure Our Future campaign say in a letter to CEOs released today. They also released research revealing that four of the 15 biggest oil and gas insurers are companies that have …

European insurers Lloyd’s, Zurich and Munich Re are the biggest supporters of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline, enabling a huge expansion of tar sands oil that would undermine international climate targets, the Unfriend Coal campaign reveals today. Trans Mountain is pressing ahead with plans to expand its pipeline connecting tar sands in Alberta to the Pacific …

NGOs warn industry risks repeating mistakes made when it identified pandemic danger Insurers must champion a green and fair recovery from the COVID-19 crisis because as professional risk managers they have a unique understanding of global threats, international NGOs supporting the Insure Our Future campaign say in a letter to industry associations released today. They …

In 2013, 3,000 insurance executives were polled to identify the most serious extreme risks facing the industry. By a large margin, they identified the world’s greatest threat as “a new, highly infectious and fatal” pandemic. In case you were wondering, an “invasion of non-peace-seeking aliens” was ranked lowest among 57 different risk factors. In 2008 …

AIG CEO Brian Duperreault clearly hasn’t gotten the memo The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has demonstrated that we cannot afford to build any new coal projects and need to phase out existing capacity quickly if we want to have a fighting chance of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UN Secretary General …

The insurance industry’s shift away from coal, the biggest source of CO2 emissions, is accelerating. When we launched our 2019 coal insurance scorecard in early December, we were excited to see that since April 2017, 17 insurers had withdrawn from the coal sector. What used to be a European phenomenon had also ignited action among …

46% of reinsurance market and 37% of industry’s global assets covered by coal exit policies The number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal has more than doubled in 2019 as the industry’s retreat from the sector accelerates and spreads beyond Europe, the Insure Our Future campaign reveals today in its third annual scorecard on insurance, …

46% of reinsurance market and 37% of industry’s global assets covered by coal exit policies. The number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal has more than doubled in 2019 as the industry’s retreat from the sector accelerates and spreads beyond Europe, the Unfriend Coal campaign reveals today in its third annual scorecard on insurance, coal …

Unfavourable trends in the global reinsurance market, risks related to climate change, and key reinsurance and insurance companies moving away from coal – these are the most important challenges for the power insurance market in 2019 according to experts from Willis Towers Watson. Apart from the unfavourable trends and the expected increase in costs of reinsurance and …

Today, insurer AXIS Capital (NYSE: AXS) announced a new policy on fossil fuels to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. In an unprecedented step for a U.S. insurer, AXIS Capital will restrict insurance for both coal and tar sands projects and companies. AXIS Capital is an insurer and reinsurer that is active in the …

In a welcome move, Axis Capital and Canopius withdrew their bids for insuring the railway line of the Adani Group’s proposed Carmichael coal mine last week. This brings the number of insurers and financial institutions which have ruled out supporting the Adani project in some way to 16 and 59, respectively. The latest development is …

The New York climate week opened this morning with the launch of a new asset owner climate alliance. The 12 signatories, among whom we can find the Insure Our Future targets Allianz, Swiss Re and Zurich, have committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. With the 9 others insurers and …

To keep global warming to 1.5°C, we urgently need to phase out coal. The insurance industry, to its credit, is beginning to realize this and take action. Momentum is growing within the industry to adopt coal policies: Since 2015, 16 insurers have restricted investment and/or insurance exposure to the coal sector. However, while there are …

The All Blacks are the world’s most successful rugby team and a symbol of New Zealand’s national pride. They are also the favorite with the bookies to win this year’s Rugby World Cup, which starts in Japan later this week. The All Blacks invited controversy in 2012 when they allowed US insurance company AIG to …

Hurricane Dorian has just ripped through the Bahamas, causing catastrophic damage, injuries and fatalities. Wildfires continue to wreak havoc in California, and flash flooding and a freak hailstorm caused chaos and destruction in Spain last month. Climate change is supercharging extreme weather and natural disasters. It is hard to imagine that any company wouldn’t strive …

Over 110,000 petition signatures handed over at the insurer’s Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane offices calling for the American company to rule out insuring the controversial mine. On Thursday, protesters descended on the Australian offices of insurance giant AIG, demanding that the company rule out backing Adani Group’s proposed Carmichael coal mine. The Adani mine has …

The Insure Our Future campaign and Market Forces urge insurance brokers Aon and Marsh to retract their advisory roles in a proposed $2.6 billion Vietnamese coal-fired power station – linked to “excessive” environmental, health and human rights impacts – in letters released today. The project, Van Phong 1, is set to be built in Van …

A global coalition of 32 environmental, Indigenous, and citizen groups is calling on the companies listed on the insurance certificate for the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline to drop their policies ahead of the August 31 renewal deadline. Citing massive political and environmental risks from one of the most contentious projects in Canada’s history — the …

Aviva’s new ESG fund falls short of a “unanimous vote in favour”  for a fossil-free fund from the £140m actors’ union pension group, Equity Pension Scheme. On the second day of London’s first ever Climate Week, activists from Pension to be Proud and Fossil Free London, with the support of Insure Our Future, gathered to …

Chubb, the Largest Commercial Insurance Company in the U.S., Announces New Policy to Address Climate Change Today, Chubb (NYSE: CB), the largest commercial insurance company in the United States, announced a new policy on coal to address the climate crisis. According to the policy, Chubb will stop insuring new coal-fired power plants and phase out …

This briefing paper identifies the biggest insurers of the oil and gas industry and what they need to do to align their businesses with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Burning oil and gas accounts for more than 50% of global CO2 emissions. Over the next two decades oil companies and oil and gas …

Insure Our Future today welcomed Austrian insurer VIG’s announcement of a strengthened coal policy, but warned that it does not meet the need for a rapid phase-out of coal to meet Paris climate targets. The insurer commits to making no new investments in companies which derive more than 30% of sales from coal mining, among other criteria, a significant improvement on its previous …

Global insurance think-tank refuses to discuss fossil fuel phase out plans at annual meeting With banners and sirens, activists from Greenpeace and the Insure Our Future campaign alerted insurance CEOs, who were convening for their annual meeting in Buenos Aires, to the climate emergency gripping the planet and demanded that they stop insuring new and …

Nationale Nederlanden, a Dutch insurance and asset management company active in 18 countries in Europe and Asia with EUR 260bn AuM, has announced a new coal exclusion policy for underwriting and investments The policy will exclude underwriting and proprietary investment in mining companies that derive more than 30% of their revenue from coal extraction, and …

Aviva will be shown up at its AGM tomorrow for ignoring opportunities to exit the Polish coal sector. Insure Our Future campaigners will be attending the AGM. In December 2018, Aviva’s open pension fund (OPF) held £214m in Polish coal companies, ENEA, Energa, JSW, LW Bogdanka, PGE, Tauron, ZEW Kogeneracja and ZEPAK. While its coal …

Insure Our Future campaigners made coal one of the dominant issues at the recent annual general meetings of insurance companies. Here is a brief summary of new policy announcements from the current AGM season: France AXA has committed to apply its 2017 divestment policy to all third-party assets managed by AXA IM by the end …

A new briefing on the coal insurance business of Talanx, one of Europe’s leading insurance companies, reveals the weak spots in its recently announced coal exclusion policy. The analysis published today finds that loopholes in the announcement could allow the company to continue supporting the expansion of the coal industry in Poland and Vietnam via …

At its AGM today, Generali ruled out insurance for the controversial Turów coal mine in Poland, as well as all existing coal mines in Poland. However, the insurer offered no information on the extent to which the policy will cover both stand-alone and package insurance contracts, a key detail which will determine the impact of …

Insurance brokers play a critical role in the global economy, helping businesses and households find affordable insurance cover. Brokers’ first obligation is to serve their customers – but what does this mean at a time when climate change poses fundamental risks to the insurance industry, its customers and the future of human civilization? Global warming …

Lucie Pinson, European coordinator of the Insure Our Future Campaign and campaign adviser for FoE France attended French (re)insurers AXA and SCOR’s AGMs on Wednesday 24 April and Friday 26 April to call on them to scale up their action on climate change and in particular to commit to fully phase out their exposure to …

Fifteen NGOs supporting the Insure Our Future campaign warn insurance CEOs of increasing public pressure on companies that do not end their support for coal, extending scrutiny to Asian and North American companies. Dear Madam/Sir, Since 2017, the organizations engaged in the Insure Our Future campaign have called on the insurance industry to stop underwriting …

In November 2018, Generali stated that it was engaging with six coal companies since July 2018, and that it would only renew coverage from March 2019 for those that would present and implement a credible transition plan away from coal. The end of Q1 has long passed, and Generali’s exclusion of Polish and Czech coal …

On Earth Day, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara chose “collaboration” with the insurance industry over urgent climate action. Commissioner Lara rejected a petition from 60 environmental, consumer and social justice groups that sought to make insurers disclose the fossil fuel projects they insure. The Commissioner’s refusal to act allows insurers to keep their complicity in …

Asia is Ground Zero of the global coal fleet. Two thirds of the world’s coal power plants are located in the region, and another 585 plants – 76% of the global pipeline – are still under construction or in the planning phase in Asia. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is clear on how …

Pressure is building on Liberty Mutual to rule out the project. An Indian company is desperately clinging to its plans to build one of the world’s largest coal mines in Eastern Australia. In addition to being a massive source of carbon emissions, Adani Group’s Carmichael coal mine threatens the rights of the Indigenous Wangan and …

Australia’s insurance giant QBE has become the first insurer outside Europe to adopt coal restrictions, in a move that will add to the pressure on Japanese, Chinese and Korean coal insurers to follow suit. According to its new energy policy, QBE will stop providing new direct insurance services for thermal coal mines, power plants and transport …

Austria’s Uniqa will stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the tenth insurer to announce restrictions on its cover for coal. The new policy is available here. For existing clients, Uniqa will decide whether to renew contracts in 2025, depending on the energy transition plans of each client. Insure Our Future has identified at …

Spain’s Mapfre is to stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the ninth insurer to announce restrictions for its cover to coal. In a statement Mapfre also re-announced that it will end investment in energy companies that derive more than 30% of income from coal. The company also announced plans to be carbon neutral …

We have only 12 years left to save the planet from devastating climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned last October. With important governments missing in action, financial institutions have now emerged as unlikely allies of climate activists. In recent months banks and other financiers have pulled out of the coal and other …

Austria’s Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) is to stop insuring new coal plants and mines, becoming the eighth insurer to announce restrictions on its cover for coal. The new coal policy is available here. VIG also announced that it would cease investing in companies which derive 50% of revenues from thermal coal mining or thermal coal …

Scientists have warned that we need to leave most fossil fuels in the ground to keep global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees. We cannot afford to build any new coal projects and must phase out existing coal power plants by 2030 in industrialized countries, and by 2050 in the rest of the world. Activists have …

The withdrawal of insurance companies from the coal sector is starting to bite. Insurance rates for coal companies are rising, which adds to their difficulty competing with renewable energy providers. In this context it is deeply concerning that Aon, a global insurance broker, is offering to assist coal companies in circumventing the coal exit policies …

The world’s largest insurance brokers have refused to rule out support for the giant Carmichael coal mine in Australia, despite growing opposition to the project among insurers and financial institutions. 73 organisations with a combined membership of more than 76 million wrote to Marsh, Aon, Willis Towers Watson, the JLT Group and Arthur J. Gallagher, …

Matching developers with insurers, insurance brokers play a critical (if often neglected) role in making coal projects happen. New mining or infrastructure projects are typically insured by syndicates of 15 or more participants. Their developers invariably rely on brokers to manage their risks and arrange the proper insurance coverage. Only four corporations – Marsh, Aon, …

Campaigners call on laggards to back UN climate targets and refuse support for disastrous project Ten of the world’s foremost insurance companies will not provide support to develop the controversial Carmichael coal mine in Australia, following the lead set by many global financial institutions, the Insure Our Future campaign revealed today. Companies that have explicitly refused …

Organizations with 76 million members warn project would have disastrous impact on climate change 73 organizations, representing a combined membership of more than 76 million people, are sending an open letter to 30 global insurance companies today, calling on them to publicly rule out any insurance services for Adani Group’s Carmichael coal mine and associated …

While Europe’s major insurers step back from coal, smaller ones and US, Japanese, and Australian insurance companies are enabling coal expansion from Poland to Australia. Speakers from Poland, Australia, France, and the United States will present new information on the role of insurance companies in enabling coal expansion around the world. Hugely controversial planned coal …

Insurance companies are taking unprecedented action against the coal industry, ending insurance for coal companies, mines and power plants and excluding coal from $6 trillion of investments, reveals the Insure Our Future campaign’s second annual scorecard on the industry. Momentum is growing as four of the world’s biggest insurers have announced new restrictions on coal …

Unprecedented insurance action puts coal under pressure Insurers are coming under growing political, regulatory and public pressure to support a rapid worldwide phase-out of coal. In the last year, insurance companies have taken unprecedented action against the coal industry, ending insurance for coal companies, mines and power plants and excluding coal from more than $6 …

We are facing twin crises: air pollution and climate breakdown, and the solution to both is absolutely clear: we need to close coal power plants and mines in Europe on a massive scale, and we need to do it by 2030 at the absolute latest. However, while the path we have to take is clear, …

Four companies back expansion plans as industry leaders end cover for new coal power Four European insurers are continuing to support plans to expand Poland’s coal industry, reveals research from the Insure Our Future campaign released today as the country prepares to host the UN Climate Summit next month. Germany’s Talanx, Austrian insurers Vienna Insurance …

Following the Italian insurance company, Generali’s announcement today about its improved coal exclusion policy that puts an end to insuring new coal plants and mines, while turning away new coal clients with more than 30% of their energy production or revenues coming from coal, Generali follows Allianz, AXA and Zurich, which all have announced restrictions …

Generali and Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) have signed a 365,000 euro contract to insure a recently finished 660MW coal power plant in the Czech Republic, undermining international action to tackle climate change and clean up Europe’s air, the Insure Our Future campaign revealed today. Coal is the biggest single source of CO2 emissions. No new …

This weekend, thousands of activists from all over Europe are occupying RWE’s Hambach site, a giant open-pit lignite mine in North Rhine-Wesphalia in Germany. This annual mobilization has become a symbol of the fight against fossil fuels and has even greater significance this year as Germany discusses a coal phase-out date. While a growing number …

This weekend, thousands of activists from all over Europe are occupying RWE’s Hambach site, a giant open-pit lignite mine in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Called Ende Gelände, this huge annual mobilization has become a symbol of the fight against fossil fuels. RWE is the world’s largest producer and operator of lignite, the dirtiest form of …

In four days, the IPCC will release its report on the consequences of a +1.5°C global warming. Their conclusions will be unquestionable: There is still time to prevent runaway climate change and its disastrous social impacts. But this would require tremendous immediate climate action and a thorough phase-out of fossil fuels, starting with the worst …

Ever more serious hurricanes, wildfires and floods have triggered record losses for the insurance industry, and regions which are particularly threatened by extreme weather events are at risk of becoming uninsurable. Given these trends you would think that U.S. insurers would have turned out in large numbers to attend the first ever conference on insurance …

At a time when every effort should be made to wean the world from fossil fuels, German company RWE announced that it intends to begin the clearance of the ancient forest of Hambach from 14 October 2018, in order to expand Europe’s largest open-pit mine, the Hambach lignite mine. This is an astonishing move considering …

Poland is the country most dependent in the European Union on dirty and polluting coal, and is the only EU country that is still planning a massive expansion of its coal sector. If built, the pollution from these plants will lead to the premature death of thousands of people and make it impossible to reach …

You wouldn’t think your insurance company would invest your premiums in businesses that increase the catastrophes you’re paying them to protect you against. Think again. A recent study published in the scientific journal Climatic Change showed that emissions from products and processes of 90 fossil fuel companies – the very companies insurers invest in – …

A banner floated off the coast of Monaco, in front of the luxury hotel Fairmont where the major players of the reinsurance markets gather for a cocktail party at the 62nd Rendez-Vous de Septembre, a major industry event. It says “Reinsurers, Insure Our Future”. Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re, SCOR and Berkshire Hathaway are …

Reinsurers’ policy loopholes keep coal industry afloat A handful of reinsurers have the power to hasten the phase-out of coal and play an important role in the fight against climate change but weak industry policies are undermining action taken by direct insurers, reveals a briefing from the Insure Our Future campaign released today to coincide …

A handful of reinsurers have the power to hasten the phase-out of coal and play an important role in the fight against climate change but weak industry policies are undermining action taken by direct insurers, reveals a briefing from the Insure Our Future campaign released today to coincide with a major industry conference. A growing …

Following a public consultation the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has recently released its final Issues Paper on Climate Change Risks to the Insurance Sector. Its conclusions could push regulators to scrutinise climate risk more closely. The Paper aims to provide an overview of how climate change is affecting and may affect the insurance industry, and …

ClientEarth has reported three insurance companies to the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to disclose climate change-related risks in their annual reports. The three insurers targeted are Admiral Group plc, Lancashire Holdings Limited and Phoenix Group Holdings. The complaints, available on ClientEarth’s website, include an extensive discussion of the general risks which climate change poses …

The Insure Our Future campaign, together with Urgewald and the social movement Avaaz, today welcomed the latest announcement by Munich Re CEO Joachim Wenning on his group’s future handling of coal. According to Wenning’s guest article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the world’s second largest reinsurer plans to stop offering insurance for new coal-fired power …

Yesterday, Handelsblatt published an interview with Munich RE’s CEO Joachim Wenning on climate change and its fatal effects. He showed again that he has perfectly understood the meaning of the Paris Agreement, explaining that by 2050 the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels need to be reduced by 90 percent. Considering Munich Re has …

In a new Fair Finance Guide, four Japanese environmental organizations have for the first time rated the investment and lending policies of the country’s eight leading insurance companies. The guide, which was published in Tokyo on July 25, awarded the highest scores to MS&AD ahead of SOMPO. In recent weeks some Japanese insurers have initiated …

San Francisco becomes first US city to push insurance industry to stop insuring coal and tar sands Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors became the first municipal body in the United States to call upon insurance companies to stop insuring and investing in fossil fuels, citing the need to address climate change and the …

Some places – think of China’s Great Wall, Egypt’s pyramids, the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef – are of such outstanding universal value that they have been recognised as World Heritage Sites. Under a UN convention, host governments commit to protect these sites for present and future generations while they derive some economic …

NGOs supporting the Insure Our Future Campaign have called on insurers in a letter to take a stand against coal expansion and refuse to insure a new 660MW coal power plant in the Czech Republic. The Czech state-owned power utility was tendering the insurance contract for its Ledvice III lignite-fired power unit with a deadline …

The Insure Our Future Campaign today welcomed Swiss Re’s decision to stop reinsuring businesses with more than 30% exposure to thermal coal and called on Munich Re to follow suit. Swiss Re was the world’s biggest reinsurer in 2016, with 15.7% of all non-life reinsurance premiums, and it is also one of the leading construction, property …