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
Virgin Money
Green/Ethical Products
Virgin Money operates a Climate Change Fund (available to ISA savers) which seeks to invest in renewable energy companies. The fund’s managers have explicitly stated that this fund does not apply any socially responsible investment criteria to the investment process.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No evidence of an ethical lending policy was found.
Responsible Lending
1. Credit Lending
No evidence of credit checking with reference agencies was found, only the following statement re credit limits: ‘The limit given is based on your personal circumstances. If you’ve got a high salary and low debts, you’re more likely to get a higher credit limit.’
No policy was found to avoid or prevent offering unrequested increases in credit limits to customers.
2. Debt Warning
No warnings were found with regard to the consequences of payment default. Nor was any reference to the FSA Debt Test or similar found. 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 difficulties.
3. Debt Management and Advice
No information or policies on payment default and handling payment problems were found. Similarly no information with regard to the possibility of payment holidays/breaks was found.
Financial Exclusion
Virgin Money does not offer any products or services to the financially excluded. We found no evidence that it engages with credit unions or other mutual organisations; that it funds microfinance projects or that it lends at preferential rates or invests in deprived communities.
In terms of access, its website is accessible to customers with disabilities. It also provides literature in Braille, large print and audio tape, as well as offering Typetalk services.
Environment
No public data on the specifics of Virgin Money’s environmental policy was found.
Carbon Neutral
No evidence of a pledge was found, however, the parent company, the Virgin Group, reports that all ‘key’ UK office sites are run on renewable energy and that extending this across all ground operations is being considered.
Equal Opportunities
The company’s policy addresses the key issues of gender, race, disability and sexuality.
Women on the Board
No data found.
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
None
Virgin Money
- Credit Card
- Loans
- Savings
- Investments
- Mortgages
- Pensions
- Insurance (Home, Motor, Travel, Pet, Life)
Virgin Money
Virgin Money
The Service Quality Team
Discovery House
Whiting Road
Norwich
NR4 6EJ
