It's Time to Underwrite Earth
Fossil Fuel Insurance Companies: AIG, Chubb, & Liberty Mutual
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Fossil fuel infrastructure requires three pillars of support to move forward: permits/approval (from the executive government, which is currently unsympathetic to climate action), money (from banks, asset managers, and investors, many of whom seem to be moving away from their climate commitments in recent weeks and months), and insurance. On this last note, insurance companies like AIG, Liberty Mutual, and Chubb perpetuate our society’s dependence on fossil fuels by underwriting new and existing oil, gas, and coal extraction projects. Despite broad pledges to achieve net-zero emissions, they continue to insure fossil fuel infrastructure such as Freeport LNG, Cameron LNG, and Rio Grande LNG. U.S. insurers have also invested an estimated $582 billion of their assets from customers’ premiums in fossil fuels. Though a number of insurance companies have restricted coverage for fossil fuel projects, the largest insurers continue to underwrite extractivism and, like major asset managers, invest in climate change.
Insurance companies could be the key to ending the fossil fuel era. Yet, even though insurers are supposed to safeguard us against the risks of natural disasters and environmental-related loss and damages, their practice of insuring fossil fuels is enabling climate change, making our lives more susceptible to upheaval. What’s more, insurers are starting to bear the financial brunt of their actions. Climate change accounts for over one third ($600 billion) of all weather-related insurance losses in the last two decades. For 15 top insurers, the estimated amount of all climate-attributable losses is now greater than the direct premiums these companies earn for fossil fuel projects. Insurers are increasingly dropping people on the frontlines of the climate crisis from coverage. They’re hurting communities and losing money while doing it.
We deserve better than an era in which those who need to protect our future from damage continue to insure its destruction. At the Jewish Youth Climate Movement, we draw inspiration from our environmental tradition; Midrash Kohelet Rabbah instructs us: “For if you corrupt it, there is no one to repair it for you” (7:13:1). When our communities seek climate resiliency by getting insurance for our homes, schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, vehicles, and lives, we know that we will not be able to repair all that has been corrupted.
It’s time for insurance companies like AIG, Chubb, and Liberty Mutual to step up to the moment and step back from fossil fuels. This petition stands in solidarity with Jewish youth organizers on the frontlines of the climate crisis in this time. We commit to vocalizing our support for corporate practices and governmental legislation that, in accordance with Jewish teaching, align insurance practices with climate justice. Across the country, we are building momentum toward moving away from underwriting destruction and toward underwriting a safer future for our earth. For without us, without this moment, there will be no one to repair it for you. We hope you will join us!
Petition by
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To:
Fossil Fuel Insurance Companies: AIG, Chubb, & Liberty Mutual
From:
[Your Name]
Dear AIG, Chubb, and Liberty Mutual,
Despite broad pledges to achieve net-zero emissions, your companies continue to insure pipelines such as Freeport LNG, Cameron LNG, and Rio Grande LNG. U.S. insurers have also invested an estimated $582 billion of assets from customers’ premiums in fossil fuels. Though a number of insurance companies have restricted coverage for fossil fuels projects, your companies continue to underwrite oil and gas and, like major asset managers, invest in climate change.
Insurance companies could be the key to ending the fossil fuel era. Yet, even though insurers are supposed to safeguard us against the risks of natural disasters and environmental-related loss and damages, the practice of insuring fossil fuels is enabling climate change, making our lives more susceptible to upheaval. What’s more, insurers are starting to bear the financial brunt of their actions. Climate change accounts for over one third ($600 billion) of all weather-related insurance losses in the last two decades. For 15 top insurers, the estimated amount of all climate-attributable losses is now greater than the direct premiums these companies earn for fossil fuel projects. Insurers are increasingly dropping people on the frontlines of the climate crisis from coverage. They’re hurting people and losing money while doing it.
We deserve better than an era of climate hypocrisy, in which those who need to protect our future from damage continue to insure its destruction. That's why I am asking you to restrict underwriting for all existing and new fossil fuel projects and remove assets from investment in fossil fuel companies.
When our communities seek climate resiliency by getting insurance for our homes, schools, places of worship, neighborhoods, vehicles, and lives, we know that we will not be able to repair all that has been corrupted. I am writing to you in solidarity with Jewish youth organizers on the frontlines of the climate crisis in this time, calling on you to meet this moment by aligning insurance practices with climate justice. Across the country, we are building momentum toward moving away from underwriting destruction and toward underwriting a safer future for our earth.
Sincerely,