Chubb Ceases New Coal-Plant Business to Fight Climate Change

(Bloomberg) -- Chubb Ltd. said it will stop underwriting the construction or operation of new coal-fired plants to fight climate change.

The insurer will also stop underwriting or making new debt or equity investments in companies that derive more than 30% of their revenue from coal-mining or energy production from coal, it said in a statement Monday. Insurance coverage for firms that exceed that threshold will be phased out by 2022, Zurich-based Chubb said.

“We’ve been actively following and thinking about climate change issues for a significant time,” Joe Wayland, executive vice president and general counsel, said in a phone interview. “There’s been a lot of attention on coal and this is one more action that moves us toward a lower-carbon economy.”

The announcement follows policy changes from other insurance groups to limit insuring and investing in coal plants, including Axa SA, Zurich Insurance Group AG, Munich Re Group, Swiss Re AG, Hannover Re and Allianz SE.

Wayland said coal is a small part of Chubb’s billions of dollars of business, and the policy change will have a “small impact” on revenue. Coal power is shrinking in the U.S. and European Union, though demand remains strong in Asia, especially in China and India.

--With assistance from Katherine Chiglinsky.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Rembert in New York at erembert@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Daniel Taub, Will Wade

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