Addressing the insurance crisis requires a unified approach to decarbonisation and resilience

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

Insure Our Future responds to EIOPA’s recognition of the elevated risks of fossil fuels

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

Institutional investors conduct climate change engagement with SOMPO after being encouraged by environmental NGOs

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

Generali, a new step forward in the fight against oil and gas expansion

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

For a few dollars more -Report by Reclaim Finance

For a few dollars more – the Fossil Fuel Policies of Lloyd’s Managing Agents 2

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 lake

Too little, too late: Zurich publishes unambitious transition plan

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). …

Letter sent to SOMPO’s 50 shareholders to engage with the insurer to stop underwriting new fossil fuels

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 …

Property & Casualty Companies Facing Rising Claims While Fostering Fossil Fuels

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 …

Report: Playing With Fire: Canadian Insurers & Fossil Fuels

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.

How The Insurance Industry Impacts Climate Chaos In Bangladesh

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 …

Letter — SOMPO: Stop Underwriting Rio Grande LNG

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 …

SOMPO: Stop Underwriting Rio Grande LNG

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 …

A Just Transition To Clean Energy Can Benefit Insurers and Communities

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 …

Aerial view of Vienna - Vienna, Austria

VIG lacks ambition as it slows on progress: Insure Our Future statement on updated sustainability policy

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

Analysis: Chubb’s new conservation and methane standards remain inadequate but should exclude support for EACOP

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 …

AXA must end its support for LNG

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, …

Insuring Disaster 2024

ShareAction Report: Insurance’s triple whammy threatens the survival of people and planet

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 …

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New Finance Watch report clarifies ingredients for impactful transition plans for insurers

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 …

IOF Lloyd's Building 24

Campaigners demand ‘polluters pay’ as insurance industry meet for inaugural sustainability summit

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 Insurance Protest Global Week of Action 2024

Insure Our Future Responds to Zurich’s New Oil and Gas Exit Policy

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’s strengthened climate policy does not go far enough

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, …

Thousands take part in powerful global week of action demanding Insurance industry take climate action

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, …

Insure Our Future XR London Action

Probitas pulls out of EACOP and West Cumbria coal mine

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 …

Zurich or Dubai?

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 …

AXA’s new oil and gas policy: glass 44% full or 56% empty?

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’s new oil and gas policy testing insurers’ self-regulation on climate risks

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 …

AXA under pressure on oil and gas insurance

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 …

AXA’s climate leadership on the line: Letter to CEO

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 …

Climate campaigners call on insurers not to underwrite Gasunie’s proposed Brunsbüttel LNG terminal

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, …

Insure Our Future calls on Net Zero Insurance Alliance founding members to immediately stop insuring new fossil fuels

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 …

Leading European insurers back LNG infrastructure

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) …

Climate campaigners welcome Net-Zero Underwriting Alliance (NZIA) with caveats

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. …

2020 Scorecard on Insurance, Fossil Fuels and Climate Change

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 …

Coal is increasingly uninsurable in 2020, but industry fails to act on oil and gas

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 …

Insurers withdrawing cover from coal projects double in 2019

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, …

2019 Scorecard on Insurance, Coal and Climate Change

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 …

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