Extinction Rebellion warns insurers of ‘ecocide' legal action and continued disruption over fossil fuel ties

Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has vowed to inflict “as much reputational and revenue damage” as possible on insurance firms to “pressure them to do the right thing” – in its opinion, this means withdrawing insurance from the fossil fuel sector.

So far in 2025, insurance firms have found themselves being targeted by the protest organisation as it seeks to instigate an industry-wide withdrawal from providing insurance cover for the fossil fuel sector.

For example, on 8 January, Extinction Rebellion occupied broker Marsh’s Manchester office and on 29 January, it collaborated with the Education Climate Coalition and Insure Tomorrow to stage a demonstration at Howden’s London office as delegates arrived for the Airmic Risk Forum.

The activist group warned of continued mass disruptions for the insurance industry if insurers continued to ignore its messaging.

Speaking exclusively to Insurance Times, a spokesperson at Extinction Rebellion said: “It’s too late for incremental industry shifts or policy tweaks to dial down the focus and intensity of protests.

“The only option for avoiding this scenario left to insurance chief executives is a rapid withdrawal from the oil, gas and coal sector, followed by an industry-wide strategy to support the adoption of renewables.”

Accusations of ecocide

Extinction Rebellion believes the fossil fuel industry would be unable to operate without insurance, therefore it views insurers as critical enablers of environmental destruction.

Its spokesperson continued: “Fossil fuel insurers are every bit as responsible as big oil, gas and coal [companies] for the damage being done to planetary stability, the earth’s ability to sustain over eight billion people and to ecosystems and biodiversity.

“They are directly responsible for rising food and energy prices, for every extreme weather catastrophe and every excess human death caused by pollution and extreme weather.

“For those chief executives who put profits ahead of a liveable planet, we have a message – some of the world’s best lawyers are preparing cases on criminal charges of ecocide.

“You must decide now whether you’re willing to risk serious jail time for your role in the deaths of billions.”