Is your insurance company funding Israeli war crimes?
A new report has exposed the extent of the insurance sector’s financial support for Israel’s assault on Palestine. The newly-launched Boycott Bloody Insurance campaign reveals investments totalling over $1.7 billion, from a range of multinational insurers, into companies supplying military equipment used by Israel since 7 October 2023.
‘Insurance giants claim to protect communities, but they’re funnelling our money into war, exploitation, and violence,’ says Monika Nielsen, lead researcher at Boycott Bloody Insurance.
The research details how global insurers such as Allianz, Zurich, AIG, RSA, Aviva and AXA underwrite and fund firms such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Elbit Systems and BAE Systems. Many of these companies are already the subject of national campaigns due to their direct implication in documented war crimes in the Gaza Strip, such as attacks on civilians using white phosphorus and precision guided munitions.
Besides those that explicitly supply weaponry and military equipment, other companies such as Maersk – insured by AIG – provide logistical and shipping support to the Israeli military. The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) have incorporated the report’s findings into their ongoing campaign ‘Mask off Maersk’.
‘Insurance, just like logistics, is crucial for arms transfers to oppressive regimes,’ says Yara Derbas of the PYM. ‘Our actions target the corporate complicity enabling Israel’s ongoing crimes. This isn’t just about Palestine – it’s about global justice and ending corporate exploitation.’
The Boycott Bloody Insurance campaign calls for urgent civic action against the companies named in the report, as a way of ‘demand[ing] accountability from insurers profiting from human suffering,’ explains Nielsen. Co-ordinated actions across the UK are set to take place on 25 March to urge institutions, charities, and businesses to shift to ethical insurers, incurring reputational damage and financial cost to complicit firms.
This call joins a wider chorus to enact Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) against all companies and institutions complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. PYM stands alongside a number of pro-Palestine organizations in endorsing the report and campaign, along with the Palestinian BDS National Committee and the Watermelon Index.
This week’s report is the first in a damning series set to be released by Boycott Bloody Insurance over the coming months, with future reports promising similar analyses of the insurance sector’s financial support for harmful industries such as fossil fuel companies, controversial weapons manufacturers and the UK detention industry.
📈 Read the full report Ensuring Genocide: The Insurance Industry and Israel’s War Machine
📣 Sign up for updates on the Boycott Bloody Insurance campaign to be the first to hear of future reports and actions, and register for the campaign press conference next Wednesday, 19 March at 4:30pm GMT
👀 Keep an eye on the campaign social media page for more information on the UK-based co-ordinated national actions on 25 March — or, anyone can get involved in the PYM ‘Mask off Maersk’ global day of action on 18 March
🪙 Take immediate action by learning how to lobby your workplace switch your organisation’s insurer today
Like what you've read? Support us with a tip.
Are you a freelancer? Pitch us a story.
Looking for more? Listen to our podcast The World Unspun
Shop ethical goods at our very own Ethical Shop
Subscribe to New Internationalist magazine and get Currents absolutely free!
Would you join an online News Club to discuss our Currents stories and meet other likeminded people? Let us know by using the buttons below.