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
MINT
Green/Ethical Products
None
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No evidence was found of a policy on ethical lending or insurance was found specific to MINT. However, while the parent company, RBS, does not have a broad group-wide ethical policy it does have the following:
- Global lending and project finance for corporate customers (i.e. the Equator Principles are applied in project finance decisions)
- Ethical Code for Suppliers in line with the UN Global Compact principles (human rights)
Furthermore, a Sustainability Team manages all Corporate Responsibilities at executive level, including assessments of social and environmental impacts of the lending policy.
Responsible Lending
1. Credit Lending
MINT currently offers credit cards only. It is not taking new loan applications.
The bank uses information from credit reference agencies as well as behavioural and credit scoring techniques to assess secured and unsecured credit applications.
The bank does not have a policy to avoid making unsolicited increases to customers’ credit limits.
2. Debt Warning
No warnings were found as to the consequences of missing loan or credit card repayments. The bank does not refer customers to the FSA Debt Test or an equivalent test. This test is designed to help customers find out whether you have, or are likely to have, problems with borrowing. It also has tips on what to do if customers find themselves in difficulty.
3. Debt Management and Advice
With regard to customers experiencing difficulty making their repayments the bank asks customers to contact them as soon as possible and states that if repayments are protected with its Loan Payment Protection plan then they can be covered in the event of sickness, accident, major illness, death and, in some cases, unemployment. No restructuring options or payment holidays are offered.
Financial Exclusion
MINT does not offer any products to financially excluded customers.
Its parent company runs the RBS Financial Inclusion Innovation Fund which provides grants to voluntary and charitable organisations including the Royal National Institute for the Blind, Citizens Advice Bureau and Credit Unions.
RBS also works with Scotcash, a Community Development Finance Institution offering support to people in Glasgow who are otherwise excluded from financial services.
MINT provides the following means of access for disabled customers: textphone service, Typetalk, documents available in large print, in Braille and on audio tape.
Environment
The parent company, the RBS Group, addresses the key area of energy efficiency but not waste management in their Corporate Responsibility report. The report also states a commitment to continued improvement in performance.
Carbon Neutral
The parent company RBS, has set a goal to reduce the group's carbon emissions per employee in the UK and Ireland by 20% from 2006 levels by 2011. No pledge regarding absolute carbon neutrality has been made.
Equal Opportunities
RBS’s group policy addresses the key issues of gender, race, disability and sexuality.
Women on the Board
5.88% of parent company, RBS's, board members are women (2007).
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Charitable Giving
The parent company, RBS, donated 0.38% of its pre-tax profits in 2007.
MINT
- Credit cards
- Insurance
- Loans
