Insurance Australia Group has withdrawn from the UN-convened Net Zero Insurance Alliance, stressing that the company remains committed to reaching net zero by 2050. 

IAG did not specify a reason for its withdrawal but said it supports the efforts to date of the NZIA, including the development of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials standard on insurance-associated emissions and the NZIA target setting protocol. 

A spokesperson for the general insurer said: “Our membership with the NZIA has allowed us to better understand the role we can play to decarbonise our insurance portfolios.”

IAG said it continues progressing its net zero initiatives through its Climate & Disaster Resilience Action plan in addition to other initiatives it is committed to: the Insurance Council of Australia's Climate Change Roadmap; the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards; and the New Zealand Climate Leaders Coalition.

Re/insurers that have left the alliance state they are still committed to decarbonisation outside the group. Many of them did not provide a reason for their departures; only Munich Re said it was due to antitrust risks, which usually affect those with significant exposure to the US.

Some of the former NZIA members do not have apparent exposure to the US. A case in point is Canadian mutual Beneva, the shortest-serving member, who joined the alliance in April but terminated its membership last week “because the growing political debate concerning environmental, social and governance criteria in the United States is a distraction from the actions around which the company wishes to rally”.

Beneva said it is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 for its insurance portfolio, operations and investments through its UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance membership.

Although Spanish insurer Grupo Catalana Occidente operates in the US through subsidiaries, it told mallowstreet last month that it left the alliance following the departures of peers. 

The insurer said: “There have been recent exits from the alliance by insurers and reinsurers in several countries. In this scenario, we appreciate all the support that the alliance has provided to its members in order to help them define the decarbonisation pathway, and we think that we can continue the path of advancing our sustainability objectives individually, outside the alliance."