The UK insurance industry is one of the biggest in world representing £175* billion in investments for 2020, it’s ranks fourth in the world. You may wish to consider the impact on the planet if your insurance company invests its premiums into fossil fuel extraction for example.

This environmental car insurance guide will explain about the different considerations when choosing a car insurance provider in regards to the environment. If you are thinking of a change and want a greener car insurance provider this guide should help highlight some of the greenest providers in the market.

The Co-op car insurance was until recently one of the top environmental car insurance choices however the business was bought by a hedge fund (not an impact investment fund) in December 2020 so you may be left wondering who to go with. This guide will help make that decision.

Brokers and Underwriters 

When buying car insurance you will be faced with two types of companies: brokers and underwriters. Brokers sell, solicit or negotiate on the behalf of a client for a gain and they take a commission. The insurance company itself is the underwriter which pays out the claims and some do sell to the public directly.

You should do your research when buying insurance through a broker/underwriter, details can be found in key facts section of their proposal. Comparison websites will also provide this information.

Environmental Insurance Campaigns 

Insure our future is a collaboration of campaign organisations that rate different companies on their policies and they are trying to get insurance companies to:

• Stop insuring coal, oil and gas
• Stop Fossil fuel investing
• Insure and invest in the low-carbon economy
• Have their business activities fall in line with the Paris agreement

Climate Change

UK General have little if any information published on how they are tackling climate change. The likes of Admiral, Direct Line, Esure, Hastings and NFU Mutual are not much better. While some of these do highlight the impact of their offices, this only represents a very small impart on their total operations. What an insurance company underwrites and how they invest your premiums should be the main consideration if you wish to make an impact with your choice.

Climate Wise

ClimateWise is a global insurance industry collaboration focused on driving action on climate change risk. Insurance companies can voluntarily disclose their climate policies and contribute research towards climate change and the insurance industry. Insurance companies being part of this means they are thinking about the impact they are making on the climate and how they can change it, bearing that in mind when choosing insurance. This a good indication they have the right intentions to help the planet.

Investments 

You may think Insurance companies sit on a lot of money given they take premiums straight away from the customer. However, they invest that money making them some of the world’s largest investors. Where they invest that money and whether that includes impact investments should be a consideration. The industry invested £175* billion in investments for 2020 which is a significant amount of the entire UK GDP. Roughly 90% of profits come from investments. Just how green and ethical were those investments?

The investment policy will be a crucial part when picking a insurance company otherwise you could be funding coal-fired power stations and white phosphorus weapons.

After reading through this guide we have ranked the top 3 greenest and least green insurance companies. This may help you make a decision on who to choose as they are ranked on 3 categories which are environment, people and politics.

Top 3 Greenest and and least Green Car Insurance Companies in the UK

Sources – Our environmental car insurance guide recommends visiting ethicalconsumer.org & insureourfuture.co, for more details on environmental Insurance providers.

*iii.org/publications/insurance-handbook/economic-and-financial-data/world-insurance-marketplace