{"id":40531,"date":"2026-09-30T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=40531"},"modified":"2026-09-30T11:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T09:35:01","slug":"zurich-buys-beazley-why-this-makes-new-oil-and-gas-drilling-harder-to-insure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/zurich-buys-beazley-why-this-makes-new-oil-and-gas-drilling-harder-to-insure\/","title":{"rendered":"Zurich buys Beazley: why this makes new oil and gas drilling harder to insure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zurich Insurance, which completes its purchase of Beazley, the largest insurer within Lloyd\u2019s of London, on October 1st, has confirmed that its fossil fuel policies will apply to Beazley. This shifts 10% of the Lloyd\u2019s market out of the underwriting of new oil and gas drilling and new metallurgical coal mines, marking a significant moment for a marketplace that has lagged behind other insurers and remains the single largest centre for the insurance of fossil fuels worldwide (1).<\/p>\n<\/div>

Zurich Insurance is one of the world\u2019s largest insurance companies and has been given the final go-ahead by UK courts for its purchase of Beazley, the UK-headquartered insurer, for \u00a38.1bn. In doing so, it gains Beazley\u2019s access to the Lloyd\u2019s of London marketplace.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Zurich\u2019s fossil fuel policies will apply to Beazley: what this means<\/h2><\/span>
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Zurich and Beazley, like many major insurers, have policies which state that they will not provide insurance for certain kinds of new fossil fuel projects. Beazley only restricts underwriting for new thermal coal and some new unconventional oil and gas.(2) Zurich has the same restrictions, and since April 2024 also <\/span>excludes<\/span> <\/span><\/a>the underwriting of new upstream oil and gas (exploration, development and production), as well as metallurgical coal (see Table 1 for an overview).<\/span><\/p>\n

Zurich\u2019s policy does not go far enough, since it does nothing to restrict the underwriting of new LNG terminals, of which a huge construction spree is planned that would <\/span>destroy any hope of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5\u00b0C<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Zurich\u2019s fossil fuel policies are stronger than Beazley\u2019s, especially in relation to new oil and gas drilling, and <\/span>they have recently confirmed that their existing policy will apply to Beazley once the purchase is completed<\/b>, subject to a \u2018transition period\u2019.(3)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Table 1: comparison of the fossil fuel restrictions of Zurich and Beazley<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Type of fossil fuel restriction (all relate to new projects unless specified)<\/th>\nZurich*<\/th>\nBeazley<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Thermal coal mines and power plants<\/td>\nYes<\/strong><\/td>\nYes<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Metallurgical coal mines<\/td>\nYes<\/strong><\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Upstream oil & gas<\/td>\nYes<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Midstream\/downstream oil & gas<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\nNo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

* A more detailed breakdown of Zurich\u2019s fossil fuel policies can be found in Reclaim Finance\u2019s <\/span><\/i>Coal Policy Tracker<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span> and <\/span><\/i>Oil & Gas Policy Tracker<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This step cannot be taken for granted. While a group-wide policy would usually apply to an acquired company, there is at least one Lloyd\u2019s insurer for which the group-wide policy does not apply: Brit Insurance does not apply the policy of its parent Fairfax Financial.(4)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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A significant moment for the Lloyd\u2019s market and the insurance of new fossil fuels<\/h2><\/span>
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This development has great significance for the Lloyd\u2019s market as a whole, which for several years has been dragging its feet on climate action. <\/span>After initially bringing in a market-wide fossil fuel policy in 2020, Lloyd\u2019s has since watered this down to \u2018guidelines\u2019 before finally dropping them in 2025.(5) <\/span>There is currently no market-wide policy for even the most polluting fossil fuels such as coal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2024, all major European (re)insurers have excluded the underwriting of new upstream oil and gas (6), making the Lloyd\u2019s market the key laggard in Europe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beazley, through its managing agent Beazley Furlonge, is the biggest player within the Lloyd\u2019s market: it controls 6 syndicates and had a 10% share of gross written premium at the end of 2023. Reclaim Finance\u2019s 2024 report found that <\/span>only 7% of the Lloyd\u2019s market was covered by restrictions on risks related to upstream oil and gas<\/span><\/a><\/span>. This acquisition raises the proportion to 17%, more than 1 in 6 of the total.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is more significant because Beazley has been a major player in oil and gas underwriting: in 2024 Reclaim Finance assessed 10 insurance certificates obtained by Greenpeace Norway relating to offshore oil and gas assets in the North Sea, and Beazley <\/span>was named<\/span><\/a><\/span> on half of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

With such a significant proportion of the Lloyd\u2019s market now expected to withdraw from underwriting new oil and gas drilling and new met coal, obtaining insurance for such projects may become more difficult and expensive, as has happened for new thermal coal mines.(7)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Time for action<\/h2><\/span>
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While Zurich\u2019s confirmation is a welcome step and an important moment, Lloyd\u2019s cannot simply wait for more managing agents within the market to be purchased by more forward-thinking insurers.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the United Nations, it is highly likely that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C by 2100 compared with the pre-industrial era will not be met.(8) Every effort must now be made to avoid each additional fraction of a degree of warming and thereby prevent irreversible tipping points (9) with major consequences for society and its ability to afford insurance.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a summer in which the UK saw at least 2,800 heat-related deaths (10), and while towns like Tenbury Wells brace for more flooding which threatens to render them uninsurable (11), insurers have a responsibility to act.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Lloyd\u2019s of London, this means reinstating its market-wide policy on fossil fuel expansion, beginning with restrictions for new coal mines and plants, before expanding the scope to oil and gas expansion.<\/span> While in the absence of such action, individual Lloyd\u2019s managing agents must bring in, or strengthen, their own fossil fuel policies. (12)<\/span><\/p>\n

Confirmation that Zurich\u2019s fossil fuel policies will apply to Beazley is a significant moment: it means that 17% of the Lloyd\u2019s market, the largest centre for fossil fuel insurance, will not insure new upstream oil and gas projects. This could make insurance for new oil and gas drilling, vital for projects to go ahead, harder to obtain. Yet Lloyd\u2019s and the managing agents within the marketplace must go further if climate goals are to stay within reach, starting with a mandatory market-wide policy for the most polluting fossil fuels: new coal.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Notes:<\/h3><\/span>
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  1. Estimates from market intelligence provider Insuramore, analysed and presented in a <\/span>2025 report from Reclaim Finance<\/span><\/a><\/span>, are that the Lloyd\u2019s market in 2024 constituted 9% of the premium volume for fossil fuels globally, rising to 13% for oil and gas.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Beazley, <\/span>TCFD report 2024<\/span><\/a><\/span>, page 16, 2024\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. On 15th September, Zurich confirmed to our partner organisation Campax that their existing policies will apply to Beazley after a \u2018transition period\u2019.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. As referenced in the ShareAction insurance benchmark, Brit Insurance does not apply the fossil fuel policy of its parent, the Canadian insurer Fairfax Financial. ShareAction, <\/span>Insuring Disaster 2026<\/span><\/a><\/span>, page 18, 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. See the <\/span>Financial Times article<\/span><\/a><\/span> by Lee Harris and <\/span>Reclaim Finance\u2019s letter<\/span><\/a><\/span> in response, both from September 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. (Re)insurers with a commitment not to insure new oil and gas fields: Aviva, Allianz, AXA, Cov\u00e9a, Generali, Hannover Re, HDI Global, Mapfre, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. A study by researchers from the University of Zurich found that insurers\u2019 coal policies have a real-world impact on the operations of coal mines. See\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),<\/span> Limiting overshoot \u2013 Navigating exceedance of 1.5\u00b0C and pathways towards return<\/span><\/a><\/span>, 2026<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Irreversible impacts on the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), including the Gulf Stream, and the Amazon rainforest are among the phenomena considered potential tipping points.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. UK Health Security Agency, <\/span>Interim heat mortality monitoring report, England: May and June 2026<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
  11. The Guardian, <\/span>The flood-prone Worcestershire town being abandoned by insurers<\/span><\/a>, October 2025<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. For the full list of Reclaim Finance\u2019s demands to Lloyd\u2019s of London and Lloyd\u2019s managing agents, see <\/span>What Future for Lloyd\u2019s<\/span><\/a>, page 18, 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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