Lloyd’s of London, MAPFRE, Catalana Occidente and four non-European re/insurers have become the latest to exit the UN-convened Net Zero Insurance Alliance, casting doubt on the future of the alliance. 

Spain's MAPFRE, Australia’s QBE and Japan’s Tokio Marine and MS&AD Insurance Group have announced their departures on their website, while several news outlets last week reported that Sompo and Catalana Occidente had decided to leave the NZIA. Neither the six re/insurers nor Lloyd’s provided reasons for their decisions.

A Lloyd’s spokesperson said: “Lloyd’s has decided to withdraw from the NZIA with immediate effect. We continue to support the UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance and Sustainable Development Goals, and remain committed to delivering our sustainability strategy including supporting the global economy’s transition.”

MAPFRE said in a statement its commitments are maintained, including reaching net zero emissions globally by 2050, or sooner if possible.

The Spanish insurer added: "MAPFRE remains committed to the deployment of its sustainability strategy, reaffirming the principles of contributing to an energy transition that sets people at the center, as well as supporting clients throughout their own energy transition."

MS&AD declined to comment further. 

Meanwhile, Catalana Occidente said: "There have been recent exits from the alliance by insurers and reinsurers in several countries. In this scenario, we appreciate all the support that the alliance has provided to its members in order to help them define the decarbonisation pathway and we think that we can continue the path of advancing our sustainability objectives individually, outside the alliance."

QBE, Tokio Marine and Sompo have been contacted for comment. 

The alliance is now left with 17 members from 30 at the end of March.

The NZIA has also been contacted to comment on the situation. In the past, the alliance has declined to discuss individual members’ actions but stressed the importance of urgent collaboration, not just individual actions, to tackle climate change.

Membership of the group is gradually falling apart as it recently lost several European members - Allianz, AXA, Hannover Re, Munich RE, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich. Apart from Germany’s Hannover Re, the other six were founding members that joined the alliance in July 2021. 

So far, Munich Re has been the only firm to cite antitrust risks as the reason for pulling out. While many other insurers left the NZIA without explanations, several said they remain committed to transitioning to net zero individually.

Moody’s Investors said in April antitrust risks are heightened for those with material property and casualty re/insurance operations in the US such as Munich Re and Zurich, but “are of less concern outside the US, where authorities in some regions are actively working on adapting antitrust measures to accommodate competitor collaboration on sustainability topics”.

The NZIA’s troubles have also caught the attention of climate activists Insure Our Future. 

In a commentary written after SCOR’s exit, Peter Bosshard, coordinator of the campaign, said: “Unlike the NZAOA [Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance], the NZIA never adopted fossil fuel-related guidelines, and the obligations for its members were always minimal. All the members that left the NZIA have adopted restrictions on coal, oil and gas insurance. By strengthening their policies as they left the NZIA, SCOR and Talanx [the parent of Hannover Re] demonstrate that insurers’ shift away from fossil fuels continues irrespective of the fate of the alliance.”

Insure Our Future is an umbrella group of several organisations calling on re/insurers to immediately stop insuring new fossil fuels and phase out support for existing coal, oil and gas projects.

Bosshard said the organisation will hold the departing NZIA members to account for their net zero commitments and will pressure them to confirm their commitments by strengthening their policies.

He added: “At the same time we will aggressively communicate that the collapse of the NZIA doesn’t signal success for the political servants of the fossil fuel industry in the US, but that insurers’ shift away from fossil fuels continues. The shift needs to accelerate though, and the refusal of insurers to take individual or collective action rapidly enough makes a strong case for strengthened regulation.”

As a next step, Bosshard said the campaign group will push for the creation of a net zero working group at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.