Report: The Fossil Fuel Policies of Lloyd’s Managing Agents

Reports

6 April 2023

Lloyd’s of London (Lloyd’s), the world’s largest insurance market, is failing to meet the litmus test for climate responsibility of stopping fossil fuel expansion, according to new analysis by Reclaim Finance of Lloyd’s top managing agents. 

Lloyd’s  fossil fuel policy has so far only focused on coal and some unconventional oil and gas projects, which is inconsistent with the net-zero pledge it has made as a member of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA).

Reclaim Finance analysis of Lloyd’s top 20 managing agents found that;

  • Six have not publicly adopted any measures at all on fossil fuels including RiverStone Managing Agency and Chaucer Syndicates [4].
  • Eight have not publicly adopted measures to comply with Lloyd’s recommendations that its managing agents no longer insure new mines and coal plants (from January 2021).
  • Nine have not publicly adopted measures to comply with Lloyd’s recommendations not to insure new tar sands and Arctic oil and gas exploration activities (from January 2021) including Liberty Managing Agency and MS Amlin.
  • Eleven of Lloyd’s top 20 managing agents have adopted Lloyd’s current recommendations on not insuring new coal, tar sand and Arctic energy projects.

Reclaim Finance calls on Lloyd’s to set and monitor the adoption of a clear framework for its managing agents that immediately requires Lloyd’s managing agents to align their practices with its current and future policy on fossil fuels within a year after adoption by Lloyd’s, and set enforcement mechanisms and sanctions if they do not comply after the one-year deadline.

Disclaimer:

Beazley indicated to Reclaim Finance a few hours before the release of the report to have decided to align with Lloyd’s of London policy and no longer underwrite new coal mines and plants and new tar sands, or arctic energy exploration projects, orcompanies which generated more than 5% revenues from these activities.

This information, which can be found on Beazley’s TCFD report recently updated in March 2023, was indicated to Reclaim Finance as the first response to a series of emails sent to them from January 2023 to the day before the release of the report.

We acknowledge and welcome Beazley’s commitment while we call on the managing agent to integrate these commitment into a formal sector policy. We also call Beazley to adopt further measures to align with best practices, as defined by Munich Re and Argenta managing agents and with the IEA NZE’s projections regarding the end of new oil and gas fields and new LNG terminals 1.5°C

The report The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, The Fossil Fuel policies of Lloyd’s Managing Agents is being updated to take into account Beazley’s recent commitments and will be available soon.

Updated on 06.04.2023 following Beazley’s announcements