US insurers retain coal support

While most of the leading European insurers have by now taken action on coal, none of the nine US insurers assessed have taken any steps, according to the Unfriend Coal campaign.

Companies like AIG, Chubb, Liberty Mutual and Berkshire Hathaway continue to underwrite and invest in the leading source of carbon emissions, the organisation noted.

The Unfriend Coal campaign calls on insurance companies to stop underwriting and investing in climate-destroying coal projects.

The momentum of insurers shifting away from coal is growing, according to the newly released 2018 Scorecard on Insurance, Coal and Climate Change.

The Unfriend Coal report states that Europe’s four biggest primary insurers have now restricted insurance for coal. One third of the reinsurance market has done the same, and 19 major insurers with more than $6 trillion in assets have divested from coal, the report noted.

The report ranks 24 of the world’s biggest insurers on their action on coal and climate change, scoring their policies on underwriting, divestment and other aspects of climate leadership. It is based on responses to a questionnaire from 18 companies, including all European and Asia-Pacific insurers, and on publicly available information.

Swiss Re ranks highest for the most comprehensive policies on both coal insurance and divestment, the report said. The reinsurer has divested from companies relying on coal for more than 30 percent of their mining income or power generation, and no longer offers them insurance cover. The policy applies to existing and new projects and across all lines of business worldwide. Swiss Re’s underwriting and divestment policies also cover tar sands and other extreme fossil fuels.

Asia-Pacific insurers continue to insure and invest in coal, although there are the first signs of change, the report noted. Three of Japan’s largest life insurance companies have announced they will no longer fund new coal projects, and Australia’s QBE is currently reviewing its coal underwriting and investment policies.

However, the report finds that even the coal exit policies of European insurers still contain large loopholes. Some fail to cover leading coal developers because their definition of coal companies is exceedingly narrow, according to the report. Others do not apply to certain types of insurance or only restrict certain coal projects. Most divestment policies do not apply to assets insurers manage on behalf of third parties – more than $1 trillion in the case of Allianz, the report said.

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