Howden’s London office is the venue of today’s Airmic Risk Forum

Delegates arriving at the Airmic Risk Forum at Howden’s London headquarters today (29 January 2025) were met with protests from three different climate groups.

Extinction Rebellion, the Education Climate Coalition and Insure Tomorrow all staged demonstrations as delegates arrived at Howden’s office in One Creechurch Place.

Some protesters were outside, while others occupied the lobby.

The protests were related to fossil fuels, with protesters calling for the support of such projects to be ended.

Students from University College London, Lancaster University, Kings College London and London School of Economics also joined in, with them warning that the next generation of workers will boycott insurance careers over fossil fuel ties.

One PhD student said: “The insurance industry is incredibly complicit in the state of the world now, and the future to come, through their insuring [of] fossil fuel projects.

“If they continue, then young people like us will refuse to work for them.”

Warning

The protest comes following multiple protests across London during late 2024.

These were part of the Insure Our Survival campaign, which aims to stop insurance firms from insuring new fossil fuel projects.

Meanwhile, in January 2025, Extinction Rebellion occupied Marsh’s Manchester office in 12 Booth Street, Belvedere, as it called for an end to funding for fossil fuel projects.

At today’s protest, a spokesperson for the Education Coalition told Insurance Times: ”We are here to speak with insurers and risk managers to ask them to cease their involved with fossil fuel companies.

“The theme of the [Airmic] event is – Is another world possible? We say there is another one and one which is free of fossil fuel power.”