New 50-State Search Tool Locates Home, Auto Policies From Providers That Don’t Invest Billions in Fossil Fuels
As extreme weather raises rates nationwide, new business directory helps consumers avoid companies funding climate crisis.
Green America
Green America launched a first-of-its-kind searchable directory to connect consumers with insurance companies that do not underwrite fossil fuel extraction projects or invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry. With options in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the Climate Smart Insurance Directory lists local and regional home and auto insurance providers that offer competitive pricing and opportunities for policy-bundling, but without contributing to the climate crisis that is raising rates and limiting coverage options.
The Directory provides consumers with climate smart insurers that:
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Offer home, renters and auto insurance (with very few exceptions), so consumers can save by bundling.
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Do not insure fossil fuel projects (per publicly available information).
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Have no indication of direct investments in the fossil fuel industry (Grade A), have investments under $200 million (Grade B), or investments under $500 million (Grade C), as listed in the Investing in Climate Chaos database by Urgewald, a German environmental and human rights NGO.
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Have a rating of A- or above for financial stability from AM Best.
Most states have at least four climate-smart insurers listed that consumers can compare. Many of the companies are regional insurers or mutuals that do not spend large amounts of money on advertising. The announcement comes as the online real-estate marketplace Zillow rolls out new climate risk data so home shoppers can view flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air quality risks, for considering specific insurance needs and costs in risk-prone areas.
Insurance Company | Total Fossil Fuel Investments |
Berkshire Hathaway (parent of GEICO) | $95.8 billion |
State Farm | $20.6 billion |
USAA (through Victory Capital) | $11.2 billion |
AIG | $9.7 billion |
Nationwide | $7.2 billion |
Allstate | $4.5 billion |
Travelers | $1.9 billion |
Liberty Mutual | $1.8 billion |
The Hartford | $1.3 billion |
* Source: Investing in Climate Chaos database by Urgewald. Data collected in May 2024. Figures rounded to first decimal. |
Bill McKibben, founder of Third Act and 350.org, said: “No one really enjoys buying insurance—but this new tool helps make it both easy and constructive. This is the industry that should really understand risk; let’s support the companies that are using their knowledge to help not hurt.”
Cathy Cowan Becker, Responsible Finance Campaign Director at Green America, said: “As the U.S. continues to see a record-shattering onslaught of extreme weather disasters fueled by climate change, insurance companies are seeing the most immediate impact through increased claims. So, the fact that the very largest insurance companies are also investing billions of dollars in fossil fuels is a puzzling example of an industry directly funding its own downfall. Consumers are taking note, and they’re taking their business elsewhere.”
The insurance industry stands on the immediate front lines of the climate crisis. Every time a climate-related fire, flood, or storm damages or destroys property, policyholders expect their insurance policy to help foot the bill. But as natural disasters become more common, major insurance companies have begun to cancel or restrict coverage in climate-vulnerable states like Florida, California, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona and others. Hurricane Helene is just the latest multibillion-dollar superstorm to test the already-battered private insurance industry.
Despite increasing climate risks, the nation’s major insurance companies continue to support the chief cause of the climate crisis: the burning of fossil fuels. By insuring risky fossil fuel projects and investing billions of dollars in fossil fuel companies, major insurance companies are financially entangled with an industry whose interests conflict with the interests of its own customers.
Michael Richardson, co-founder of Rivers & Mountains GreenFaith, which co-sponsored the project, said: “The scientific and moral imperative is clear: climate scientists have issued a clarion call to immediately stop all new fossil fuel projects if we are to avert critical tipping points in the climate system. So, we must ask why the insurance industry continues to insure and fund new projects. At long last consumers have the Climate Smart Insurance Directory to connect them with insurance companies that are contributing the least possible into the money pipeline leading to climate chaos. This tool is one more way to mobilize people to take environmental action by making something we all have to do just a little easier – shopping for insurance.”
In 2023, the United States experienced a record number of weather- and climate-related disasters, causing $95 billion in damages. Meanwhile, average property insurance premiums increased 21% nationwide, even in places without heightened risk. Some states were hit harder than others. Homeowners insurance premiums increased the most in Florida (35%), Idaho (31%), Colorado (30%), South Dakota (28%), Louisiana (27%), Texas (27%) and Oklahoma (27%).
According to a recent report by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), 7.4% of all homeowners in the country are currently uninsured, resulting in $1.6 trillion in unprotected market value, with many forced to go without insurance because they can’t afford rising premiums. Known as “going bare,” CFA warned that the problem of uninsured homes will worsen without significant investments in climate change adaptation and stronger oversight of the insurance industry.
Fourteen organizations have endorsed the Climate Smart Insurance Directory, including: Third Act, GreenFaith, American Sustainable Business Network, Stand.earth, Rainforest Action Network, Oil and Gas Action Network, Intentional Endowments Network, BankFWD, Center for International Environmental Law, Climate First!, Rivers & Mountains GreenFaith, Environmental Advocates NY, 350 Conejo San Fernando Valley, and Divest Washington.
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