CROMWELL, CT – Climate activists brought their protest to the green fairways of the Travelers Championship Golf Tournament, directly challenging Travelers Insurance over its significant role in underwriting and investing in fossil fuels. On June 21, 2021, members of the Connecticut Citizens Action Group (CCAG) staged a demonstration at the tournament entrance, wielding banners and accompanied by a marching band to amplify their message: “Travelers Underwrites Climate Change.”
This action is part of a larger global movement, Insure Our Future, which is pressuring insurance companies worldwide to divest from fossil fuels. Activists argue that by insuring and investing in coal, oil, and gas projects, companies like Travelers are directly fueling the climate crisis.
Tom Swan, Executive Director of CCAG, stated, “It is becoming ever more clear that insurance companies are playing a very destructive role in financing and underwriting climate change. Travelers is one of the last major global insurers that has no restrictions whatsoever on underwriting coal. And despite talking a big game on sustainability, Travelers has over $3.5 billion dollars invested in fossil fuels.”
While Travelers announced intentions to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030, this commitment is viewed as insufficient by activists. They emphasize that the company’s core business practices—underwriting and investment portfolios—remain heavily tied to the fossil fuel industry. Travelers ranks among the top three global insurers for oil and gas and notably continues to underwrite coal projects without restrictions. This insurance coverage is critical for the operation and expansion of fossil fuel projects.
Further intensifying the issue, Travelers’ investment portfolio includes a substantial US$3.5 billion in fossil fuel companies, encompassing major players like Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and pipeline operators such as Kinder Morgan and Halliburton. This financial backing directly contradicts the growing urgency to transition to a clean energy economy and mitigate climate change impacts.
“We are here today as part of an escalation on Travelers and other insurers to demand they stop underwriting and investing in activities destroying our climate,” Swan reiterated. “They need to understand that their current efforts at greenwashing will not work. We demand real action to combat the climate crisis.”
The choice of the Travelers Championship as a protest site is strategic. Travelers, headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut—a hub of the insurance industry—is deeply embedded in the local community and heavily promotes its tournament sponsorship. However, Connecticut, like the rest of the world, is increasingly experiencing the severe consequences of climate change, including intensified floods, droughts, and heatwaves.
The financial repercussions of climate change are also becoming apparent for insurers. Global losses from natural catastrophes reached $82 billion in 2020. Travelers itself faced significant after-tax losses of $1.3 billion in 2018 due to natural disasters, including a $314 million loss from the Camp Fire in California. These escalating climate-related losses underscore the financial risks associated with continued fossil fuel dependence.
Pressure on the insurance industry to sever ties with fossil fuels is mounting from various fronts. US senators have called for greater scrutiny of insurer’s fossil fuel underwriting practices, and United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has explicitly urged the industry to phase out this support. Adding to this momentum, Connecticut recently passed pioneering legislation mandating the state’s Department of Insurance to address climate-related risks within the insurance sector, directly impacting companies like Travelers. This law requires the state to incorporate emissions reduction targets into its regulatory oversight of Connecticut-based insurers.
The activists at the Travelers Golf Tournament emphasize that their protest is not just a local issue but part of a global imperative to hold corporations accountable for their climate impact and to demand a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.
