Unveiled: 'Leaders and laggards' in fossil fuel underwriting and investing

How do insurers including Allianz, AXA and Chubb stack up?

Unveiled: 'Leaders and laggards' in fossil fuel underwriting and investing

Environmental

By Terry Gangcuangco

The Insure Our Future campaign has released its 2021 scorecard on insurance, fossil fuels, and climate change – the group’s fifth annual report on insurers’ climate policies – and here Insurance Business outlines how 30 insurance companies fared in the latest rankings.

According to Insure Our Future, which has been examining the role of the global insurance industry in the fossil fuel sector, here’s how the companies stack up:

Insurer

Fossil fuel insurance rank

Fossil fuel investment rank

Other climate leadership rank

Allianz

1

3

2

AXA

2

1

3

AXIS Capital

3

4

11

Swiss Re

4

4

4

Zurich

5

6

5

Hannover Re

6

12

11

Mapfre

7

8

10

Generali

8

7

7

SCOR

9

1

8

QBE

10

13

9

Aviva

11

23

1

Munich Re

12

9

6

HDI Global

13

9

11

The Hartford

13

11

11

Tokio Marine

15

16

11

Lloyd’s

16

16

11

MS&AD

17

16

11

Samsung FM

17

16

11

Chubb

19

15

11

Liberty Mutual

20

14

11

Ping An

21

16

11

Sompo

21

16

11

W.R. Berkley

23

16

11

AIG

23

24

11

Berkshire Hathaway

23

24

11

Convex

23

24

11

Everest Re

23

24

11

PICC

23

24

11

Sinosure

23

24

11

Travelers

23

24

11

 

As indicated above, German group Allianz leads the pack in terms of ending fossil fuel insurance; French firms SCOR and AXA when it comes to fossil fuel divestment; while UK-headquartered Aviva emerges as the frontrunner in relation to other climate leadership.

Insure Our Future, meanwhile, lamented that while the insurance industry’s exit from coal continues rapidly, the same can’t be said about oil and gas. The lobby group highlighted that only AXA, Generali, and Suncorp (not part of the rankings) have adopted policies to deny coverage for many or all new oil and gas production projects.

“In 2020 Australia’s Suncorp was the first company to stop underwriting oil and gas production, committing to exit the industry by 2025,” reads Insure Our Future’s 30-page report seen by Insurance Business.

“It was joined this year by Generali, the only insurer in Europe to have ended cover for new production entirely, but not a major actor in the sector. Aviva and Swiss Re have both made limited commitments as well.”

According to Insure Our Future, no insurers in Asia and the US have indicated they will end insurance for oil and gas. AXA, meanwhile, recently adopted an oil and gas policy – the first major fossil fuel insurer said to have done so.

Insure Our Future global coordinator Peter Bosshard, who is in attendance at the ongoing 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow, commented: “The insurance industry is abandoning climate leadership by continuing to underwrite new oil and gas projects. The scientific consensus is clear: we cannot avoid a climate catastrophe if we expand fossil fuel production.

“Insurance companies need to follow the science and stop insuring all new coal and oil and gas projects if they want to regain their credibility as climate leaders.”

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