WITHIN OUR POWER Cut Emissions Today To Insure Tomorrow

The 2024 Scorecard by Insure Our Future argues that the global insurance industry is in a 'vicious cycle,' where it continues to underwrite fossil fuel expansion while simultaneously withdrawing coverage from communities facing the resulting climate risks. Using climate attribution science, the report estimates that over one-third of weather-related insured losses between 2002 and 2022—approximately $600 billion—are attributable to human-caused climate change. The analysis reveals a stark mismatch in underwriting, with renewable energy premiums representing less than 30% of the size of the fossil fuel insurance market in 2023. For 15 of the 28 major property and casualty insurers analyzed, estimated climate-attributable losses exceeded the premiums they collected from fossil fuel clients. While Generali is noted as the first insurer to restrict oil and gas expansion across the entire value chain, the report concludes that voluntary corporate leadership has stalled, necessitating urgent regulatory intervention to mandate 1.5°C-aligned transition plans and higher capital requirements for fossil fuel exposure.

• Between 2002 and 2022, climate-attributed insured losses totaled between $475 billion and $720 billion, averaging $30 billion annually. This represents more than one-third of all weather-related insured losses over those two decades.
• The share of insured weather losses attributable to climate change is increasing, rising from a 31% to 38% average over the last decade, with an annual growth rate of 6.5%, which exceeds the 4.9% growth rate of total insured losses.
• For 15 of the 28 major property and casualty insurers assessed, the estimated climate-attributable losses ($10.6 billion collectively) exceeded the premiums they collected from commercial fossil fuel clients ($11.3 billion collectively) in 2023.
• The insurance market for renewable energy is significantly smaller than that for fossil fuels; in 2023, direct premiums for renewables totaled $6.5 billion, which is less than 30% of the $22 billion fossil fuel insurance market.
• Generali is the first global insurer to implement restrictions covering the entire oil and gas value chain, including new methane LNG terminals and gas-fired power plants.
• A significant number of insurers continue to support the buildout of LNG export terminals in the U.S. Gulf Coast, including projects like Freeport LNG and Cameron LNG, despite documented safety incidents and hazardous pollutant releases.
• The report identifies a critical gap in human rights protections within the industry, noting that only five re/insurers—Allianz, AXIS Capital, HDI Global, Swiss Re, and Zurich—have committed to incorporating Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) into their due diligence.
• The report argues that the insurance industry's current behavior creates systemic financial risks, as the withdrawal of insurance from climate-affected areas can lead to a crisis in the mortgage market and a subsequent crash in property values.

APA

Jones, D., Pryor, L., Le Bourdonnec, A., Cohn, D., Cheong, G., Shin, M., Mander, R., McKay, R., Romao, P., Khan, R., & Bosshard, P. (2024). WITHIN OUR POWER Cut Emissions Today To Insure Tomorrow. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Insurance-Scorecard-2024.pdf

Chicago

Jones, Dave, Louise Pryor, Ariel Le Bourdonnec, Dan Cohn, Grace Cheong, Minyoung Shin, Rachel Mander, et al. WITHIN OUR POWER Cut Emissions Today To Insure Tomorrow. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Insurance-Scorecard-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{jones2024within, author = {Jones, Dave and Pryor, Louise and Le Bourdonnec, Ariel and Cohn, Dan and Cheong, Grace and Shin, Minyoung and Mander, Rachel and McKay, Robert and Romao, Pedro and Khan, Risalat and Bosshard, Peter}, title = {{WITHIN OUR POWER Cut Emissions Today To Insure Tomorrow}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Insurance-Scorecard-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }