QBE and Sompo are set to quit NET ZERO
Both QBE and Sompo Holdings have announced their resignations from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance. With this announcement, the Net Zero Insurance Alliance has lost nine big insurance and reinsurance companies.
The departures of QBE and Sompo Holdings follow the announcements of two other big corporations, AXA and Allianz, from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance. Scor announced their departure from the alliance earlier this week as well.
In a statement, QBE said, “We will continue to work with our stakeholders to implement our broader sustainability strategy.”
Sompo Holdings, the holding company of Sompo Insurance Group and international re/insurer Sompo International, had no comment on his departure, which was widely reported.
The global climate alliance is pressing insurers to ease their membership standards or risk splitting apart after several US states face political pressure that forced corporations to depart, according to John Neal, chief executive officer of Lloyds of London, who spoke firmly to Reuters earlier this week.
Following the withdrawal of certain major re/insurers from the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) indicated that there is a basic and urgent need for engagement with the global insurance industry to successfully manage the climate emergency. This week, Swiss Re announced its withdrawal from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, which was convened by the UNEP Finance Initiatives Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) at the 2021 Venice G20 climate meeting.
Munich Re, Zurich Insurance, and Hannover Re are among the companies that have already withdrawn. Some of the alliance’s biggest reinsurers quit this week. Many corporations are now retiring, so they are not liable to anti-trust lawsuits, according to speculation. Another reason could be concerns about losing business in the United States if it continues to pursue the net-zero plan while Republican lawmakers there oppose ESG.
