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Risk Exposure: The Insurers Secretly Backing The Methane Gas Boom in the US Gulf South

Risk Exposure: The Insurers Secretly Backing The Methane Gas Boom in the US Gulf South

Houston, Texas -  At least 35 different insurance companies are responsible for underwriting liquified methane export terminal projects across the…

Nyiragongo volcano, Nord Kivu, DRC

New Report from Greenpeace: Congo oil fields are quickly becoming uninsurable

Kinshasa, 8 September 2023 - Any company granted exploration and exploitation rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) oil…

Lloyd's of London Building

Lloyd’s ESG update: A step towards forgotten commitments, or more greenwashing?

London, 5 September 2023, written by Lindsay Keenan, Insure Our Future European Coordinator, first published in The Insurer - Lloyd’s…

Bodies lay on the floor covered in white sheets for the "die in" action. People stand behind with a red sign that says "Probitas Stop Insuring Adani"

Lloyd’s of London Insurer Probitas Exits Controversial Adani Coal Mine

This week, facing mounting pressure from campaigners, Lloyd’s of London syndicate, Probitas1492, ruled out providing insurance for Adani’s Carmichael coal…

Mother's Rise Up Mary Poppins themed protest

Why mothers are taking on the insurance industry

Written by Maya Mailer, co-founder of Mothers Rise Up and co-Director of Our Kids’ Climate. The insurance sector is the…

Oil and gas platform in Norway.

Insurance giants complicit in Norway’s oil and gas expansion

Norway, Oslo 24 May 2023 - A new report from Greenpeace Nordic reveals for the first time the extent that…

Open letter: Lloyd’s of London’s policy on fossil fuels

Open letter: Lloyd’s of London’s policy on fossil fuels

Writing in the Times on 24 April, 2023 faith leaders called on the world’s largest insurance market to “show leadership” by ending…

The good, the bad and the ugly: The fossil fuel policies of Lloyd’s managing agents

The good, the bad and the ugly: The fossil fuel policies of Lloyd’s managing agents

A new briefing focused on Lloyd’s of London and its managing agents finds Lloyd’s is failing the climate responsibility test by allowing…

Lloyd's of London Building

Lloyd’s ESG update: A step towards forgotten commitments, or more greenwashing?

London, 5 September 2023, written by Lindsay Keenan, Insure Our Future European Coordinator, first published in The Insurer - Lloyd’s…

Mother's Rise Up Mary Poppins themed protest

Why mothers are taking on the insurance industry

Written by Maya Mailer, co-founder of Mothers Rise Up and co-Director of Our Kids’ Climate. The insurance sector is the…

Over 500 students refuse to work for climate-wrecking Lloyd’s of London and others

Over 500 students refuse to work for climate-wrecking Lloyd’s of London and others

Read The Guardian article, “UK students pledge ‘career boycott’ of insurers over fossil fuels,” published on May 24, 2023 covering…

Baden-Baden 2022: Time for reinsurers to stop fueling climate catastrophes and start accelerating the clean energy transition

Baden-Baden 2022: Time for reinsurers to stop fueling climate catastrophes and start accelerating the clean energy transition

From 23-26 October, underwriters and brokers from the global reinsurance industry will meet at the annual Baden-Baden reinsurance meeting in…

People from across the globe are coming together to demand #MarshDropEACOP

People from across the globe are coming together to demand #MarshDropEACOP

In May 2022, an investigative news article revealed that Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker, is approaching insurers and trying…

Exposed: The Coal Insurers of Last Resort

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…

Lloyd’s new ESG report: greenwashing, not climate action

Lloyd’s new ESG report: greenwashing, not climate action

Lloyd’s of London published its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report two days ahead of its Annual General Meeting…

Letter to Lloyd’s on its inadequate ‘ESG’ policy

Letter to Lloyd’s on its inadequate ‘ESG’ policy

On the same day that Insure Our Future leaked Lloyd's ESG guidance, Client Earth published a letter to Lloyd's critiquing…

Parents to make Father’s Day appeal for Lloyd’s to stop insuring fossil fuels

Parents to make Father’s Day appeal for Lloyd’s to stop insuring fossil fuels

Ahead of Father's Day, parents and children make a Father’s Day appeal to Lloyds of London Chairman to stop insuring fossil fuels.
No justification for new oil and gas projects, new IEA report finds

No justification for new oil and gas projects, new IEA report finds

In a welcome reversal of long-held positions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that “there is no need for investment in new…

Adani’s coal project exposed yet another risk to insurers: flooding

Adani’s coal project exposed yet another risk to insurers: flooding

Pictures emerged of substantial flooding on the under-construction rail line to service the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine in Australia.
Coal exit policies add billions of dollars to insurers’ shareholder value, analyst report suggests

Coal exit policies add billions of dollars to insurers’ shareholder value, analyst report suggests

Coal exit policies are in the best interest of insurance companies’ shareholders as they add value for investors.
Risk Exposure: The Insurers Secretly Backing The Methane Gas Boom in the US Gulf South

Risk Exposure: The Insurers Secretly Backing The Methane Gas Boom in the US Gulf South

Houston, Texas -  At least 35 different insurance companies are responsible for underwriting liquified methane export terminal projects across the…

Nyiragongo volcano, Nord Kivu, DRC

New Report from Greenpeace: Congo oil fields are quickly becoming uninsurable

Kinshasa, 8 September 2023 - Any company granted exploration and exploitation rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) oil…

Bodies lay on the floor covered in white sheets for the "die in" action. People stand behind with a red sign that says "Probitas Stop Insuring Adani"

Lloyd’s of London Insurer Probitas Exits Controversial Adani Coal Mine

This week, facing mounting pressure from campaigners, Lloyd’s of London syndicate, Probitas1492, ruled out providing insurance for Adani’s Carmichael coal…

Oil and gas platform in Norway.

Insurance giants complicit in Norway’s oil and gas expansion

Norway, Oslo 24 May 2023 - A new report from Greenpeace Nordic reveals for the first time the extent that…

The good, the bad and the ugly: The fossil fuel policies of Lloyd’s managing agents

The good, the bad and the ugly: The fossil fuel policies of Lloyd’s managing agents

A new briefing focused on Lloyd’s of London and its managing agents finds Lloyd’s is failing the climate responsibility test by allowing…

Lloyd’s of London still on a fossil fuel diet

Lloyd’s of London still on a fossil fuel diet

Disclaimer: Beazley indicated to Reclaim Finance a few hours before the release of the report to have decided to align…

EACOP: Lloyd’s Cincinnati rule out pipeline while Talbot stays silent in response to protests

EACOP: Lloyd’s Cincinnati rule out pipeline while Talbot stays silent in response to protests

Following a week of protests, Cincinnati Global’s syndicate at Lloyd’s confirmed that it will not insure the East Africa Crude…

Annual letter to the CEOs of 30 major fossil fuel insurers, 2023

Annual letter to the CEOs of 30 major fossil fuel insurers, 2023

Every year, the Insure Our Future network publishes an open letter to the CEOs of 30 major insurance companies whose…

Mother Earth performs outside Lloyd’s of London in Mother’s Day plea for climate action

Mother Earth performs outside Lloyd’s of London in Mother’s Day plea for climate action

Mothers Rise Up calls on insurer to change its tune on fossil fuel insurance UK mums staged a concert outside…

Lloyd’s Insurers Talbot & Cincinnati targeted in global ‘week of action’ against ‘toxic’ pipeline

Lloyd’s Insurers Talbot & Cincinnati targeted in global ‘week of action’ against ‘toxic’ pipeline

Today, 23rd February activists from the StopEACOP Coalition held an ‘oil spill’ demonstration outside the offices of two insurance companies,…

British and African Quakers urge against insurance for East African pipeline

British and African Quakers urge against insurance for East African pipeline

In an open letter Paul Parker, recording clerk of Quakers in Britain, and Bainito Wamalwa, Africa section clerk of Friends World Committee…

Insurance CEOs have the power to stop fossil fuel expansion – they must not risk our planet for an extra squeeze of profit

Insurance CEOs have the power to stop fossil fuel expansion – they must not risk our planet for an extra squeeze of profit

As decision-makers converge in Egypt for the annual climate talks at COP, major new reports warn that we're at risk…

Insuring the unacceptable

Lloyd’s is insuring some of the world’s worst fossil fuel projects that other insurers have dropped or refused to cover due to their climate impact. Stark examples of projects and companies that Lloyd’s should immediately prohibit all members of its market from renewing insurance for include: the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Australia, the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in Canada, the Rosebank Oil Field in the UK, Ichthys LNG in Austraila and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline – EACOP.

Lloyd’s should make a clear public commitment that its members will not renew insurance for these climate destroying projects when they come up for renewal in 2021.

Canada

Trans Mountain Pipeline – TMX

Status: Construction

Project: Tar sands pipeline extension (1,150km)

Purpose: Boosting oil sands transportation from 300,000 boe/d to around 900,000 boe/d between Edmonton (Alberta) and Burnaby (British Columbia).

Environmental impacts:
More than 80 oil spills were reported within the period 1961 to 2016.

Social impacts: Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous communities has not been secured.

Controversy level: Very high due to civil society’s opposition.

Lloyd’s of London’s involvement: Lloyd’s underwriters have been involved for years in this project at least from 2014 to 2020. Since the insurance contract renewal of August 2020, Trans Mountain has been allowed to hide its insurers by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER)

6 managing agents that ruled out TMX:
Argenta Syndicate Management, Argo Managing Agency, AXA XL Underwriting Agencies, AXIS Managing Agency, Munich Re Syndicate, QBE Underwriting.

14 managing agents that need to rule out TMX:
This list includes Beazley Furlonge, Brit Syndicates, Chaucer Syndicates, Hiscox Syndicates, Liberty Managing Agency, MS Amlin, Talbot Underwriting, Tokio Marine Kiln Syndicates, and the others not mentioned above.

Last updated May 18, 2023

United Kingdom

Rosebank Oil Field

Status: In development

Project: UK’s biggest undeveloped oil and gas field with a total of nearly 500 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).

Purpose: Allowing the extraction of the 500m barrels of oil and gas, over 1 km deep off the Shetland coast in the North Atlantic – majority of Rosebank’s oil will be put in tankers and exported for refining overseas.

Environmental impacts:

  • Over 200 million tonnes of CO2 – the climate pollution from Rosebank’s reserves would be more than the combined annual CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
  • Potential threat to protected species including the whale dolphin and seabirds, as well as having a possible impact on commercial significant species of fish, such as haddock.
  • An oil spill from Rosebank’s operations could be devastating for marine ecosystems in the waters of the UK and neighbouring countries.

Social impacts: The UK public would carry almost all the costs (91%) of developing Rosebank. Due to the UK government’s oil and gas subsidies, the UK public would hand over £3.75 billion in tax breaks to Equinor just to develop the field. Overall, the public purse could lose more than £100 million on its ‘investment’ if Rosebank goes ahead, while Equinor and its partners take the profit.

Controversy level: Very high due to local and international opposition.

Lloyd’s of London’s involvement: Lloyd’s and many Lloyd’s managing agents are named as insurers of numerous oil companies operating in the North Sea. Lloyd’s has refused to comment on its involvement nor on specific projects, such as Rosebank.

Discover more from the StopCambo campaign or read this factsheet.

Australia

Ichthys LNG

Status: Operating

Project: One of the world’s biggest gas projects gathering extra large infrastructure, such as the world’s largest semi-submersible production platform and the longest subsea pipeline of the southern hemisphere (890km).

Purpose: Exporting around 9 mtpa of LNG (roughly 10% of Australia’s annual LNG exports).

Environmental impacts:

  • Crosses a protected marine national park.
  • One of the most carbon-intensive LNG projects in Australia due to high levels of gas flaring.

Social impacts: Not yet documented.

Controversy level: High due to local opposition to new or expanded gas projects in Australia (Barossa gas field, Scarborough gas field, etc.).

Lloyd’s of London’s involvement: Five managing agents of Lloyd’s were involved in the project insurance policy of the onshore Ichthys LNG plant between 2012 and 2017. Navigators Underwriting Agency Limited and AmTrust Syndicates in addition to three managing agents, assessed in the report.

Read Reclaim Finance’s report on Ichthys.

3 managing agents involved in Ichthys LNG:
Beazley Furlonge, Canopius Managing Agents and Talbot Underwriting. AmTrust Syndicates, which merged with Canopius in 2019, was also involved.

Last updated May 18, 2023

Uganda - Tanzania

East African Crude Oil Pipeline – EACOP

Status: Construction

Project: Heated crude oil pipeline (1,440km, the world’s longest heated pipeline.)

Purpose: Allowing more than 200,000 boe/d to flow from the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields neighbouring Lake Albert in Uganda to the Indian Ocean in Tanzania.

Environmental impacts:

  • The pipeline will pass next to the Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, that more than 40 million people depend on for water and food production.
  • It will cross more than 200 rivers and run through thousands of farms.

Social impacts: In total, this project will require the displacement of roughly 118,000 people
along the pipeline’s route, primarily farming communities who live off their land.

Controversy level: Very high due to local and international opposition.

Lloyd’s of London’s involvement: Leading (re)insurers, including Munich Re, Allianz and Hannover Re have ruled out insuring the EACOP due to the serious environmental, social and governance impacts, many of which are inherent to the project. However Lloyd’s has so far refused to comment.

Find out more from the StopEACOP campaign.

9 managing agents that ruled out EACOP: 
Aegis Managing Agency, Argo Managing Agency, Argenta Syndicate Management, AXA XL Underwriting Agencies, AXIS Managing Agency, Beazley Furlonge, Canopius Managing Agents, QBE Underwriting, Munich Re Syndicate.

11 managing agents that need to rule out EACOP: 
Brit Syndicates, Chaucer Syndicates, Hiscox Syndicates, Liberty Managing Agency, MS Amlin, Talbot Underwriting, Tokio Marine Kiln Syndicates, and the others not mentioned above.

Last updated May 18, 2023

Australia

Adani Carmichael Coal Mine

Status: Construction

Project: One of the largest coal mines in Australia, which could produce 60 mtpa (million tons per annum) of coal at peak production.

Purpose: Extracting 2.3 billion tons of coal for export to Asia (mainly India).

Environmental impacts:

  • The Adani Carmichael mine is known as a carbon bomb and could emit up to 2 billion tons of CO2 during its lifespan.
  • Adani’s Abbot Point coal port is nestled between ecologically significant wetlands, sacred Juru traditional sites, and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Social impacts: Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Indigenous communities has not been secured.

Controversy level: Very high due to local and international opposition.

Lloyd’s of London’s involvement: The Lloyd’s insurance market has been involved in providing insurance for the Carmichael coal project since 2019. Probitas has been named as insurer of the Carmichael rail line, coal haulage operation

14 managing agents who ruled out the Carmichael project 
Argenta Syndicate Management, Argo Managing Agency, Ascot Underwriting, AXA XL Underwriting Agencies, AXIS Managing Agency, Beazley Furlonge, Brit Syndicates, Canopius Managing Agents, Hiscox Syndicates, Liberty Managing Agency, MS Amlin, Munich Re Syndicate, QBE Underwriting, Tokio Marine Kiln Syndicates.

6 managing agents who did not rule out the Carmichael project
This list includes Aegis Managing Agency, Talbot Underwriting, Chaucer Syndicates, and the others not mentioned above.

Last updated May 18, 2023

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