Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference confronted with climate protests
May 14, 2025 by Extinction Rebellion
Press contact: Martin Porter – thesnufkin@inbox.com | 07546 230225
Delegates at Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference, will be greeted today (Wednesday 14 May 2025) at Manchester Central by a colourful and dramatic protest from environmental groups demanding the industry stops backing fossil fuel projects.
BIBA meets annually and their theme for 2025 is ‘A New Era’. [1]
Amongst the guest speakers will be the former manager of the England men’s football team, Gareth Southgate. [2]
The day of action is being organised as part of Extinction Rebellion’s Insure Our Survival campaign and is a collaboration with Friends of the Earth, Manchester Greenpeace and other groups and will feature a programme of dramatic and impactful visual activities which the delegates will be invited to engage with.
The creative disruption will begin outside Manchester Central just after 8am with the arrival of a life-sized model of a Lamborghini sports car, made to look as though sinking in flood waters to highlight the danger of extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis. The car has been converted into a James Corden style Karaoke booth where activists will sing pop songs about extreme weather and encourage delegates to join them, do the right thing and abandon ties with insurance companies enabling fossil fuel projects.
Across the day there will be a climate choir, samba drummers, street theatre, synchronised dance known as Discobedience, and testimonies by people affected by extreme weather.
There will also be an appearance by the Oil Slicks, an Extinction Rebellion performance group who highlight the fact that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground and that urgent action is required to address the climate crisis locally and across the globe.
The insurance industry has been the target of protest for several years due to the role that insurance plays in enabling large fossil fuel projects, and this is the third year BIBA has been a target.
A new report by Boycott Bloody Insurance [3] shows that there are 33 British insurance companies active in large fossil fuel projects, and that just five companies had $6.5 billion invested. Last month campaigners in Manchester celebrated the decision by Chubb to rule out backing the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). [5] They had targeted Chubb’s offices in Manchester on several occasions and in 2023 Patience Nabukalu, a young activist from Uganda, joined them.[5]. Marsh McLennan, who are the insurance brokers for EACOP despite a backlash from their staff, [6] will be attending BIBA.
Martin Porter, a spokesperson for the coalition organising the disobedient reception party, said: “We look forward to welcoming the delegates back to Manchester and hope we will inspire them to take action. The insurance industry is well aware of the risk from climate change and cannot continue to ignore the issue. ‘Business as usual’ is not an option.
“BIBA needs to decide if ‘A New Era’ means floods, fires, heatwaves and climate chaos, or one where brokers refuse to enable carbon bomb projects. We call on each and every one of the delegates to become climate heroes themselves and to help change their industry.”
Notes for editors
[1] BIBA Conference website: https://thebibaconference.org.uk/
[2] Ex-England manager Gareth Southgate among BIBA conference speakers: https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insight/7956124/ex-england-manager-gareth-southgate-among-biba-conference-speakers
[3] Ensuring Climate Crisis: The Insurance Industry and Fossil Fuel Giants: https://boycottbloodyinsurance.org/reports/
[4] Controversial East African Pipeline EACOP Faces Insurance Setback: https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00092496.html
[5] Ugandan Climate Justice Activist Urges Insurers to Boycott Fossil Fuel Projects: https://bylinetimes.com/2023/10/16/ugandan-climate-justice-activist-urges-insurers-to-boycott-fossil-fuel-projects/
[6] Marsh revealed in oil pipeline project shunned by leading banks and insurers: https://www.ft.com/content/597a2b01-fb54-4fd3-b326-dadf52dc250a
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