Chinese insurers rank at the bottom of industry’s progress in phasing out support for fossil fuel

PICC and China Export & Credit Insurance Corp came in last, while Ping An ranked 22nd on a list of 30 companies assessed by global NGO coalition Insure Our Future

A total of 41 insurers have withdrawn or reduced insurance cover for coal-based industries since the first report was published in 2017, up from 35 in 2021 and 23 in 2020

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China’s investments in coal-based power, iron and steel capacity accelerated in the first half of the year, putting the country’s commitments to decarbonise its economy at risk. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:30am, 19 Oct 2022

Chinese insurers were among the worst performers in a global study examining the industry’s progress in phasing out support for fossil fuel.

Ping An Insurance, China’s largest insurer, ranked 22nd among 30 companies, while People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC) and China Export & Credit Insurance Corp rounded off the bottom of the table.

The report published by Insure Our Future, a global NGO coalition, focuses on the 30 most important insurers in the power sector worldwide, ranking them according to their policies on coal, oil and gas insurance, as well as their overall approach to exiting fossil fuel.

Insurance companies play a crucial part in reducing fossil fuel production and limiting global warming to the key threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Without insurance, most new fossil fuel projects cannot proceed, and existing ones must close, according to the report.

Ping An Insurance ranked 22nd among 30 insurance firms that were assessed for their policies on coal, oil and gas insurance, as well as their overall approach to exiting fossil fuel. Photo: Shutterstock

“Insurance is the Achilles heel of the fossil fuel industry and has the power to accelerate the transition to clean energy,” said Peter Bosshard, global coordinator of the Insure Our Future campaign and main author of the Scorecard in the report.

Coal has become increasingly uninsurable outside China, and most large insurers around the globe have backed away from insuring new coal projects, according to the report. A total of 41 insurers have withdrawn or reduced insurance cover for coal-based industries since the first scorecard’s publication in 2017, up from 35 last year and 23 the year before.