Briefing: Insurance industry at the centre of a new era of protests – and risks

By Jon Guy

The insurance industry watched on 8 October 2024 as the story unfolded over the course of the day about protestors launching a coordinated series of attacks on country-wide Allianz offices over the insurer providing cover for an Israeli defence firm, Elbit Systems.

The implications of this action will now have hit home for every business across the industry.

Police were forced to enter Allianz’s UK headquarters in Guildford after protestors from group Palestine Action stormed the building and refused to leave after daubing red paint across the building – the protest collective also christened Allianz’s offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and other cities.

Two days later, Lloyd’s came under fire from climate groups for not mandating that managing agents should ensure that syndicates refuse to (re)insure new fossil fuel projects.

Lloyd’s and its underwriters are well versed when it comes to handling creative protest action in Lime Street. Insurers have arrived at work to find their offices have been defaced by protestors in the past.

Protestors targeting the insurance industry is not new. However, this week has seen a significant change in the threats underwriters face on two levels.

In the past, staff have arrived at their offices to be greeted by paint or other materials used to deface the building.

For those working at Lloyd’s or attending industry events, there have been occasions when they have been met by protestors who have either dished out leaflets or begged professionals not to attend the designated event. These protests have been peaceful.

For example, at May 2024’s Biba Conference in Manchester, climate protest groups performed a song as delegates entered Manchester Central Convention Complex for the first day of the event.

However, the events in Guildford cannot be deemed to be peaceful.

Protestors forced access to the building and climbed onto the portico at the front of the office. It required specially trained police officers to arrest and remove them before staff were able to access their workplace.

The group behind the protests told Insurance Times that until Allianz announces that it has withdrawn cover for the weapons company at the heart of the campaign, it will continue its action.

It is therefore likely that if Palestine Action do not get what it is seeking, then the group will look to increase the severity of its protests.

A new threat landscape

Secondly – and more concerning – this week’s events signal a change in the threat to insurers and brokers.

The protests in the past have been around the refusal of (re)insurers to confirm that they will not cover fossil fuel risks per se.

As such, Lloyd’s as a market and several of its underwriters have been targeted as protestors seek a blanket ban on insuring fossil fuel projects.

However, this week has seen protestors targeting Allianz for its coverage of a specific firm rather than a broader risk class.

The industry must be asking where will this end?

Activism is on the rise and, as we have seen, activists have been looking to more extreme methods to make their point.

The concern for brokers and insurers is that even if they have been clear that they are not underwriting risks that impact the climate, for example, there may well be a single client that will now see them caught in the crosshairs of protestors campaigning for a myriad of reasons.