Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference confronted with climate protests

A colourful and dramatic protest from environmental groups greeted delegates at Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference last Wednesday at Manchester Central Convention Centre. The demand was for the industry to stop backing fossil fuel projects. Without this insurance fossil fuel companies would not be able to continue polluting our planet. Sheffield was represented by the 5 Rivers Rising Samba Fusion band whose loud beats were a constant reminder to delegates that it is their duty to act now on the climate emergency. 

The day of action was organised as part of Extinction Rebellion’s Insure Our Survival campaign and was a collaboration with Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and other groups.

Delegates arrived to witness images of ordinary people in their flooded homes. Flooding is one of the major symptoms of climate breakdown, which the companies the BIBA conference attendees are brokering insurance for are responsible for creating. Chalkings on the pavements highlighted areas which had recently experienced flooding.

The creative disruption began with the arrival of a life-sized model of a “Shamborghini” sports car, made to look as though it was sinking in flood waters to highlight the danger of extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis. The car was converted into a James Corden-style Karaoke booth where activists sang songs like “Why does it always rain on me?” 

 A climate choir also performed songs.  Street theatre enacted 3 court cases, where the CEOs of various Insurance companies were put on trial and found guilty by the assembled jury. Activists dressed as Zombies performed the Michael Jackson Killer dance symbolising how insurance companies are dealing in death and destruction by insuring new fossil fuel projects. 

The most moving item was hearing the testimonies of flood victims, some recorded in Uganda and others read from victims all over the world. There was a minute’s silence to remember all the flood victims. One example was Vietnam. In early September. Typhoon Yagi hit Vietnam, causing floods and landslides which took the lives of 197 people. In northern Vietnam, the Lang Nu village home to 158 people, was swept away by a devastating torrent of water and mud that surged down from nearby hills. The authorities said 41 people were killed including at least 27 children but 54 were still missing in the mud and the debris. Hanoi resident Tran Le Quyen said “This is the worst flood I have seen in 30 years. It was dry yesterday morning and now the entire street is flooded.” Nguyen Van Hung, another resident said “My home is now part of the river”.

Oil Slicks, are an Extinction Rebellion performance group that highlight the fact that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground. Dressed completely in black with huge wings that spread out and combine to represent an oil slick, this group raised eyebrows as they paraded slowly around the city centre, stopping occasionally to form a montage.  

A new report by Boycott Bloody Insurance shows that there are 33 British insurance companies active in large fossil fuel projects and that just five companies had $6.5 billion invested. Last month campaigners in Manchester celebrated the decision by Chubb to rule out backing the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).  They had targeted Chubb’s offices in Manchester on several occasions and in 2023 Patience Nabukalu, a young activist from Uganda, joined them. 

I interviewed Cordelia Newsome, one of the orgnisers. She said “Marsh broker insurance for fossil fuel projects and they’ve been speaking at the conference today. Marsh are probably the biggest broker of insurance for the fossil fuel industry in the world and they need to stop. Brokering insurance for fossil fuels means that the fossil fuel projects will go on, that climate change will get worse and we’ll get more and more extreme weather events such as we’re experiencing at the moment with these terrible temperatures and drought. Today we’ve been trying to highlight the issue of flooding. We’ve been drawing their attention that on New Year’s Day this year, there was terrible flooding in Greater Manchester and the Northwest.  Homes and businesses were flooded and people have been ruined because they can’t get insurance. On the one hand, Insurance Companies cause climate change by insuring the fossil fuel industry. On the other hand, they’re withdrawing insurance and abandoning people.” 

“We’ve been to visit Marsh Insurance in Manchester and unfortunately, they don’t even come to talk to us. We brought to their attention testimonies from the people of Uganda and Tanzania because Marsh is the broker for the EACOP, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline which is an absolutely diabolical project that not only will cause catastrophic effects to the climate but is a breaching human rights. They’re pretending that this is really good for the people of Uganda and Tanzania. It’s not. It’s a disaster. They’re being flung off their land and given a pocket-sized piece of land in return on which they cannot grow enough food to live. And the people of Uganda, when they protest, are arrested, beaten and tortured. It’s absolutely awful. I’m surprised that Marsh wants to be associated with it.”

Former England manager Gareth Southgate was one of the speakers at the conference.

Martin Porter, a spokesperson for the coalition organising the disobedient reception party, said: “BIBA needs to decide if ‘A New Era’ means floods, fires, heatwaves and climate chaos, or one where brokers refuse to enable carbon bomb projects. We call on each and every one of the delegates to become climate heroes themselves and to help change their industry.” 

For videos of the action please see this earlier post. 

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