Insurance Capital of the World Called out for Fueling the End of the World; Connecticut Insurer among 10 Worst Fossil Fuel Insurers Globally

Fifty years after the insurance industry first warned about the impact of climate change, it is continuing to fuel the climate emergency. Today, the international Insure Our Future coalition launched its seventh annual insurance scorecard, analyzing 30 leading global insurers on their fossil fuel and climate policies. It finds insurers are not doing nearly enough. So much …

Pollution Premiums: U.S. insurers make families pay for soaring climate costs

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. Read the …

Insurers withdraw cover for climate risks while backing increased fossil fuel production, industry must act to support 1.5°C climate target after 50 years of failure

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 …

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 …

The Hartford’s Net Zero Announcement More Marketing than Climate Action

HARTFORD, CT (April 07, 2022) – Today, The Hartford announced a goal to achieve net zero emissions “for its full range of businesses and operations” by 2050. It did not provide any additional details on short-term actions, interim targets, or metrics to measure progress on emissions reductions. In response, Tom Swan, Executive Director of Connecticut Citizen …

New Analysis Debunks Climate Action Claims in AIG’s ESG Report

Public Citizen released an analysis of AIG’s first ever “Environmental, Social and Governance” (ESG) report, in which the insurer affirms its underwriting and investments in the fossil fuel industry. Advocates find that AIG has not taken adequate climate action given its lack of restrictions on fossil fuels.

Why are Connecticut Climate Activists Rallying at a Golf Tournament? The Climate Crisis is Why.

In April 2021, Travelers, the second-largest property and casualty insurer in the US, announced plans to become carbon neutral across its owned operations by 2030. However, that commitment failed to address Travelers’s massive contribution to climate change: its underwriting and investment portfolios.

In Global First, Connecticut Passes Bill Addressing Insurers’ Participation in Risky Fossil Fuel Finance

The Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill implementing the state budget, which includes a provision requiring the Connecticut Department of Insurance to address the climate-related risks of insurers. This provision, Section 346 of the bill, will be the nation’s first law requiring insurers to address climate risk.

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 …

Connecticut Bill Would be Nation’s First to Mandate that Insurance Companies Disclose Fossil Fuel Premiums

A hearing is being held tomorrow on Senate Bill 1047, which would also require disclosure of insurers’ fossil fuel investments

Los Angeles City Council Passes Motion to Screen Insurers for Fossil Fuel Policies

The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion to evaluate the city’s prospective insurance carriers based on their underwriting and investments in fossil fuels.

Coal Exit Policies Add Billions of Dollars to Insurers’ Shareholder Value, Analyst Report Suggests

The following commentary by Peter Bosshard first appeared in Environmental Finance. 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 …

Somerville and Cambridge Join Growing Trend of Cities Calling on Insurance Companies to Stop Insuring and Investing in Fossil Fuels 

Two recent Massachusetts city council resolutions are part of a growing trend of local legislators and fiduciaries pushing insurance companies to take responsibility for their role in the climate crisis.

Massachusetts State Legislators Call on Liberty Mutual to Cut Ties with Fossil Fuels

In an open letter penned to Liberty Mutual CEO David Long, the group of 38 state senators and representatives wrote: “Now more than ever, the insurance sector must accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy by phasing out fossil fuel insurance and investments. As the fifth-largest property and casualty company worldwide, Liberty Mutual is in a unique position to push for an energy transition at a global scale.”

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