Coal mining in surface mine. Miner looking on the huge excavator.

Insurance Giants Deeply Involved in Underwriting U.S. Coal, Undermining Public Net-Zero Commitments

Washington, D.C., 28 September 2023 – New Report shows AIG, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd’s of London, Swiss Re, and Zurich insure at least 41% of U.S. coal output, sometimes violating internal policies aimed at slowing climate change. Global insurance giants continue to underwrite U.S. coal production at alarming rates. While more and more insurance companies are …

Fifteen Years after Great Recession, Activists Call on AIG to Prevent Financial Meltdown Caused by Climate Change

NEW YORK — Fifteen years after  American International Group Inc. (AIG) nearly failed due to reckless financial practices, forcing the federal government to respond with a $182 billion bailout, protesters today rallied at the company’s headquarters, calling on the insurance giant to take steps to quickly end its risky underwriting and investments in fossil fuels. …

Congo oil fields are quickly becoming uninsurable

8 September, Kinshasa – 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 environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies, oil …

U.S. Capitol building, blue skies

Nationwide Insurance Crisis Sparks Senate Hearing, Focusing on Climate Change Financial Impacts

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will take a deep dive into issues plaguing property insurance markets across the country and the impact changes, including from climate change, will impact consumers. Over the past year, several major insurance companies have limited or withdrawn coverage from states dealing with major …

Sustainability Smokescreen – Analysis of AIG’s 2022 ESG Report

Overview AIG released its 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report in July. The report fails to demonstrate progress on its climate commitments. As a major insurance provider for coal, oil, and gas, AIG does not acknowledge how its continued support for fossil fuels actively exacerbates climate-related threats to its business. On March 1, 2022 AIG purported to commit to …

Insurance Industry Scorecard Update Reports 20 Global Insurers now Protect Land Sacred to Alaska Natives in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

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 …

Swing and a Miss: Travelers Fails to Champion Climate Change

In June, as an activist with Connecticut Citizen Action Group, I took to the greens at the 2023 Travelers’ Championship to gain recognition for the global climate emergency and the complicity in that crisis of the corporate interests involved in the tournament. Over the past month alone, I have seen some of the tragic effects …

A handshake centered in the image. Sleeve on the left is blue and the skin color of the person is a shade of brown. The sleeve on the right is white and the skin color is light brown. A blurred out office is in the background of the handshake.

New analysis reveals insurers financed U.S. far-right politicians who are attacking insurers’ business model

A new analysis finds that far-right politicians in Texas and Louisiana, who have been attacking the insurance industry’s ability to factor in basic climate risks for their business, have quietly been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the insurance industry itself. As the insurance industry faces billions in climate-related losses, this raises the question …

U.S. Capitol building, blue skies

As Climate Change Pushes Insurers Out of California, Rep. Schiff Calls for Data and Transparency around Industries’ Fossil Fuel Investments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation intended to require insurance companies to disclose investments and underwriting of fossil fuels companies. The Polluter Portfolio Disclosure Act aims to increase transparency around how insurance companies worsen the climate crisis, particularly as they abandon insurance customers in states that find themselves on the front lines of …

Farmers Insurance to Stop Offering Coverage in Hurricane-Prone Florida

Farmers Insurance announced today that the company will not renew existing automobile, home, and umbrella policies in Florida. The company’s announcement comes after it gave Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation notice on Monday, beginning a 90-day warning period for policy holders. Farmers’ decision will impact nearly 100,000 policies. In response, Carly Fabian, insurance policy advocate with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued …

Recap: Insurers Faced Unprecedented Investor Action on Climate in 2022 Shareholder Season

This spring, investors mounted an unprecedented challenge for climate action at the largest U.S. fossil fuel insurers, proposing a number of independent resolutions and spotlighting key director votes at AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, Chubb, The Hartford, and Travelers. Key Takeaways U.S. insurers faced unprecedented challenges from investors who are increasingly concerned about the risk that climate …

Fossil Fuel Insurers will Ignore Climate Change at Their Own Risk

The insurance industry, which is highly exposed to the risks of climate change, has quickly turned away from coal projects in recent years. Ignoring the signs of the times, three U.S. insurance companies continue to offer a lifeline to the expansion of coal production. It is no coincidence that all of them are led by …

Utilities Struggle to Insure New Coal Power, Contracts Reveal

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 …

Exposed: The Coal Insurers of Last Resort

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 …

NEW REPORT: U.S. Insurance Companies Undermine Climate Targets by Supporting Oil & Gas Expansion and Providing a Last Lifeline to Coal

The U.S. 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.

Senators Whitehouse, Warren, Merkley, and Van Hollen call on U.S. Insurance Companies to Act on Climate Change

WASHINGTON (March 25, 2021)–A letter spearheaded by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asks AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, Travelers and other US insurers to explain how their fossil fuel underwriting and investment policies align with their sustainability commitments. The letter was also signed by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen …

NYC Pension Funds Demand Insurance Giants Sever Ties to Coal iIndustry

Climate advocates celebrate Comptroller Stringer’s letters to AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, and Liberty Mutual, which urge re-evaluation across fossil fuel sectors

Major Consumer, Climate Groups Call on Insurance Industry to Ditch Fossil Fuels

New campaign Insure Our Future to hold US insurers accountable for role in climate change as first US insurance company to commit not to invest in fossil fuels
SAN FRANCISCO – On the eve of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), a new campaign, Insure Our Future, is calling out the U.S. insurance industry as a major contributor to climate change and urging them to ditch fossil fuels. Insure Our Future is the first campaign focusing on the U.S. insurance industry’s significant role in perpetuating climate chaos.
The campaign launches as Lemonade, an insurance company powered by AI, becomes the first U.S. insurer to commit to never invest in fossil fuels, urging other insurers to follow suit.

US insurers are missing the boat on coal

By Peter Bosshard | Thomson Reuters Foundation
After warning about the escalating risks of climate change for decades, many big insurers are now moving away from coal.
As professional risk managers, insurance companies quietly shape modern society, deciding what type of projects can be financed, built and operated. After warning about the escalating risks of climate change for decades, many big insurers are now moving away from coal. Only the US insurance industry is missing in action. 

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