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Environmental and humanitarian protestors are taking action against Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, demanding it drop contracts with Shell, Chevron, Maersk and General Dynamics. Campaigners in the UK and Switzerland rallied at Zurich offices, calling for a boycott, flyering, postering and speaking publicly on the insurers’ ties to various non-renewable energy companies and arms dealers.

Posters from Insure Our Survival pasted to the sides of office walls read ‘I oppose genocide, so I decided to boycott Zurich’ and ‘It has never been easier to transition away from fossil fuels – boycott Zurich.’ While protestors from the group gathered outside Zurich offices in the City of London, Croydon, Manchester and Zurich, campaigners continued online using #BoycottZurich.

Campaign groups around the world are focusing on Zurich as its contracts are necessary for weapons manufacturers, transporters and energy companies to continue trading. Without insurance these businesses would come to a grinding halt. Graphic designer Daisy Hill, 30 years old and from London, confirmed she is taking action against Zurich to “Take a stand for Palestine and Mother Nature.”

She continued, “Many contracts under Zurich Insurance Group Ltd are shocking, and consumers and businesses don’t know what they’re endorsing when they take out insurance with this company. General Dynamics creates 900kg bombs that are being dropped on civilians in Palestine, contributing to genocide. That’s why we should boycott Zurich until they promise to drop these deals.”

The Swiss insurer, with branches in 38 countries and a significant presence in the UK, has come under pressure from groups before. After pressure from insurance campaign groups including Insure Our Survival, Zurich agreed to stop signing new deals with companies producing fossil fuels in 2024.

Now, multiple groups including Insure Our Survival, Boycott Bloody Insurance are pressuring the insurer to stop renewing its contracts with Shell, Maersk, General Dynamics, Serco, Chevron and all other companies producing oil, gas, coal and arms. BreakFree Switzerland released a report on Zurich earlier in the month, revealing the insurer also invests $2.5 million in General Dynamics and $68 million in fossil fuel expansionist Shell.

Meanwhile, the new youth-led campaign No New Workers also targeted insurers in London today, disrupting a recruitment conference and calling on students to boycott the insurance sector. They cited the proliferation of fossil fuels as contingent on the insurance industry, contributing to building pressure on insurers to divest from fossil fuels and weaponry.

Notes to Editors

Protestors are calling on Zurich Insurance Group Ltd to end its deals with fossil fuel and arms companies including Shell, Chevron, Maersk, General Dynamics and Serco.​

About Insure Our Survival

• Insure Our Survival is a global campaign group that spun out of the Extinction Rebellion, focusing solely on the key role of the insurance industry in enabling the climate crisis, war and related humanitarian crises.​
• The campaign targets insurers that underwrite oil, gas and coal projects, as well as companies involved in the arms trade, and calls for an immediate end to insurance coverage for these sectors.​

About Zurich Insurance Group

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss-based global insurer with branches in 38 countries and a significant presence in the UK.​ It is widely considered the 6th largest underwriter of oil, gas and coal projects with close links to Shell in addition to covering several key arms and detention clients. 
• Campaigners highlight that insurance coverage is essential for weapons manufacturers, transporters and energy companies to continue trading, and that without insurers like Zurich these businesses would be unable to operate.​
• Last year Zurich made a public commitment not to underwrite certain new oil, gas and coal but are yet to apply that to the renewal of existing underwriting contracts in those areas or to extend that policy to arms and detention.

Background and timing to today’s actions

• Protests took place at Zurich offices in the City of London and Croydon with Manchester and Zurich to follow, involving boycott rallies, flyering, postering and public speaking, supported by an online push using the hashtag #BoycottZurich.​
• Campaigners are urging Zurich to stop renewing its contracts with Shell, Maersk, General Dynamics, Serco, Chevron and all other companies producing oil, gas, coal and arms, building on previous pressure that led Zurich to stop signing new deals with fossil fuel producers.​
• This comes just ahead of the annual Davos conference next week where Zurich Insurance as a partner of the organisers World Economic Forum (WEF) is actively participating. Crucially Zurich will be involved in discussions and events related to global risks and resilience, with a focus on topics like geo-economic confrontation and climate change, the exact areas in which campaigners say Zurich are doing the most harm.

Other campaigns involved

• Groups involved in or supporting the actions include Insure Our Survival, Boycott Bloody Insurance and BreakFree Switzerland, with BreakFree Switzerland having recently released a report exposing Zurich invests $652 million in military equipment contractors supplying Israel, companies involved in controversial weapons and fossil fuel expansionists. . https://breakfreesuisse.org/insurance & https://breakfreesuisse.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Report-Zurich-Insurance-Ensures-Destruction.pdf 
• The youth-led campaign No New Workers also took action in London on the same day, disrupting a recruitment conference and calling on students, graduates and young talent  to boycott the insurance sector over its role in enabling fossil fuel expansion and the arms trade.​

Media information

Date of release: 15 January 2026, London.​

Hi-resolution press assets: https://bit.ly/45S52Gt

Further information and campaign updates: https://insureoursurvival.org

Press contact: Jamie Anderson, 07597 712710, insureoursurvival@gmail.com