New research reveals that insurers continue to support projects that boost fossil fuel production, despite the increasing severity of climate-related disasters.
The new report issued by Insure our Future calculates that the fossil fuel insurance sector earned around £10.2 billion.
As a collective, the report showed that insurers on the Lloyd’s of London market are the biggest fossil fuel underwriters, with AEGIS, Chubb, Allianz, AXA, Fairfax, Zurich and WR Berkley among the top earners.
The report highlighted that major reinsures such as AIG Re, AXIS Capital, AXA XL, Everest Re, SCOR and TransRe have all reduced cover for natural catastrophes or left the property market altogether, as the climate crisis worsens.
In addition, the report said insurers have dropped climate commitments made as members of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.
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Insure our Future Campaign global coordinator Peter Bosshard said: “The insurance industry first warned about climate risks in 1973, and these have now become a grim reality, particularly for low income communities which have contributed least to the climate emergency”
“Insurance companies are now abandoning customers effected by climate risks, yet they continue to fuel the climate crisis by underwriting and investing in the expansion of fossil fuels”.
He continued: “If insurance companies took climate science seriously, they would fully align their underwriting and investment strategies with a credible 1.5C pathway and end all support for increased fossil fuel production”
“They would be suing fossil fuel companies, to make polluters pay for the growing costs of climate disasters and keep insurance affordable for climate-affected communities.”
The report comes as many institutions including the LGBT Awards, the British Museum and the Church of England have divested from fossil fuel sponsors in recent years, accusing the sector of greenwashing.
