Protesters in Hartford, Connecticut, took local insurance giant Travelers to task for doing business with oil and gas companies, according to Between the Lines.
The protest aligned with Travelers' annual general meeting, where shareholder advocacy group As You Sow attended and raised complaints about continuing work with harmful industries.
The goal of these protests was to prevent new polluting projects from getting off the ground by cutting off insurance support. Protesters argued that the local health damage caused by the oil and gas industry was an unprofitable liability for insurers.
"There's these massive communities that are being infected by air pollution and groundwater pollution and all of that kind of stuff," said protester Helen Humphries, per Between the Lines. "And so I think there are insurers that are starting to see that this is not worth the risk both financially and morally."
Humphries pointed to a recent victory, which led to Chubb Insurance divesting from liquefied natural gas projects.
While it's easy to draw the link between the oil and gas industry and increasingly destructive weather patterns, it also remains a poor investment vehicle. This can spell bad news for taxpayers if public funds are being used to prop up such businesses.
Meanwhile, much more profitable opportunities are available in the emerging green economy. From a pure dollars-and-cents perspective, investments in clean companies are wildly outpacing oil and gas counterparts. Combined with international cooperation on these investments, it's no wonder that some say that oil and gas companies are operating on borrowed time.
Humphries remains optimistic about the progress they're making with companies in America's insurance capital.
"Having the frontline communities at these type of rallies or having their voices heard, I think is one of the most powerful things that we can do," she said, per Between the Lines. "And so I would love to continue to amplify those stories of folks who are really hitting home with this type of issue."
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