Insurance Overview
Insurance companies supply services to a wide variety of customers, from everyday consumers to large corporations.
But do they have guidelines or policies as to who they will and won't insure? Do green and ethical considerations feature in insurance companies' risk assessments?
Might they, for example, offer coverage to munitions factories or companies with significant operations in countries with oppressive regimes? Or might they insure others with poor labour or environmental records?
Green and ethical insurance products
Green and ethical insurance products
For home, motor, travel, life and health insurance, there is a small but growing number of green and ethical insurance products available. A selection is below:
- Co-operative Insurance
Insurance type: home, motor, life and health
This provider has a comprehensive ethical engagement policy in place that governs all its insurance decisions. The Co-op's 'ecoinsurance' scheme offers cash incentives as well as environmental pledges. It offsets the equivalent of 20 per cent of the CO2 from every vehicle insured and also offers premium discounts for greener cars. - Climate Sure
Insurance type: travel
Climate Sure calculates the CO2 produced by flying overseas and pays for it to be 'offset' by funding sustainable energy projects. - Green Insurance Company
Insurance type: motor
This provider aims to offset your car's carbon emissions and offers discounts on greener cars/lower mileage. - Naturesave
Insurance types: home, travel, personal accident and illness
This company puts 10% of its personal insurance premiums in a fund (Naturesave Trust) to benefit environmental and conservation projects. It also offers a free environmental performance review for commercial clients and aims to use suppliers that support sustainable business practices. - Ansvar Insurance Co Ltd
Insurance types: home, motor, travel
Insurance is sold to individuals and organisations with a not-for-profit remit.
Your next steps
What do you do now? Check out our guide Next Steps - Insurance for suggestions on how to give your insurance policies a green and ethical makeover as well as the questions you should be asking your current or prospective insurance provider.
Insurance Search
Insurance Provider
Legal & General
Green/Ethical Products
- Ethical Trust Fund.
- Global Environmental Enterprise Fund.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No public data was found regarding the existence of an ethical insurance policy, though part of the group (Legal & General Investment Managers) is a manager of investments and some of its funds are guided by an ethical investment policy (The Ethical Trust Fund and the Global Environmental Enterprise Fund).
They are also committed to promote responsible ESG (environmental, social and governance) business practices in the companies in which they invest to create long term value for investors.
Overseen by the Group CSR committee and a Sustainable property investment committee.
Human Rights
No policy was found to indicate that Legal and General avoids lending to or insuring companies that directly contribute to human rights violations.
However Legal and General has a general human rights policy where it states it “Legal & General strongly supports the principles set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and we are committed to promoting these principles, both within our organisation and our sphere of influence”. With “Through our employment policies and practices, our relationships with our suppliers, the distribution and use of our products and services, and our investments, our objective is to promote and respect internationally accepted human rights standards and principles”.
Financial Exclusion
No evidence of any accounts, products, or services aimed specifically at the financially excluded.
Legal & General Group states that it is working with credit unions and A4e to help to improve understanding of financial products and managing personal finances and budgets.
In 2010 they worked with West Sussex Credit Union to launch a campaign targeting 485,000 working age adults within West Sussex promotes the availability of the credit union low interest loan facility. The advertising campaign was funded by Legal and General. A similar project was undertaken with Surrey Save Credit Union in 2012.
Throughout 2012 they have continued to develop, with Magnified Learning, their ‘Money, Money, Money’ programme into a movement providing practical financial education. This has reached over 5,800 young people in 30 schools and involved over 300 of their employees over the last 4 years.
It provides some documents in Braille, large print or audiotape. It reports that its website is compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.
In 2012 they secured a joint venture with CAF Bank and NESTA’s ‘Innovation in Giving Fund’ to provide loans, mentoring and consultancy for the social enterprise sector in the UK.
Following a number of pieces of research and the fact that they are still a UK dominated business they decided to work with these two partner organisations to identify a gap in the micro finance market for social enterprises.
- Providing a mix of interest free loans, consultancy and mentoring to start up’s and ‘new’ born social enterprises.
- An independent community board typically involving a wide range of members of the community and their own employees governs the allocation of funds.
The fund is designed to recycle the loan repayments back to then be onward invested in further social enterprises showing that companies must socially invest for the longer term in the communities which they rely upon for trade.
No evidence found that the company invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.
Environment
The Legal & General's environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change, energy efficiency, water use and waste management.
Additionally, it shows commitment to continued improvement of its environmental performance.
Carbon Neutral
No commitment to become fully carbon neutral was found.
Equal Opportunities
Legal and General’s diversity policy takes into consideration the key equality issues of race, gender, sexuality, and disability.
Women on the Board
UK Company:
1/10 women hold top level board positions (10%).
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Legal & General entities are members of or signatory to the following relevant charter or initiatives:
- Principles for Responsible Investment (Legal & General Investment Management Ltd)
- Carbon Disclosure Project Water Disclosure Signatory (Legal & General Investment Management)
- Carbon Disclosure Project investor signatory (Legal & General Investment Management Ltd)
- UK Stewardship Code (Legal and General Investment Management),
- ClimateWise (Legal & General Group Plc)
- Opportunity Now (Gender) and Race for Opportunity (Legal & General Group plc);
- Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Legal & General Investment Management (UK)).
Charitable Giving
Contributed £3.8 million to local communities in 2012 including the Third and not for profit sectors in the UK, France, Netherlands and the USA.
In various offices their employees who live and work in the local communities and know best on the local community issues and inequalities that we can contribute to fixing through funding, volunteering and gifts in kind typically within 10 miles of those offices.
Worked with various charities on a range of projects including:
- Working with AGE UK to develop a ‘living on £70 per week’.
- Working with Tax Help for older people to provide call centre services to our annuities customers.
- Working with Elderly Accommodation Counsel to provide seminars for employees who are worried about difficult decisions on what to do with their parents in retirement homes.
- Working with the RNLI to provide reality days for our home Insurance claims handlers to understand the real impact of flooding.
- Working with Samaritans to provide bereavement training for our teams who deal with customers’ families who have a relative who has passed away.
Legal & General
- Investments
- Insurance (Lifestyle, Home, Pet, Landlord)
- Prviate Pension Fund
- Mortgages
- Savings (Cash ISA)
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc.
Registered Office:
One Coleman Street,
London,
EC2R 5AA.
