A recent survey of insurance employees and risk management students found that the majority are deeply concerned about climate change and want the industry to address it.

In fact, 59 percent of respondents said they were “very concerned” about climate change or rated it as their “top concern.” Meanwhile, 81 percent said the insurance industry should play an active role in helping to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, according to the study by Insurance Nerds and Insure Our Future.

What steps should the industry take? The majority of respondents (68 percent) believe insurers and reinsurers should divest their holdings from the fossil fuel sector (coal, oil, and methane gas), and more than half (56 percent) believe companies should ultimately stop underwriting fossil fuels.

Notably, 68 percent of survey respondents were 40 or younger. Millennials and Gen Z professionals “want to work for companies that are leaders in [the] fight” against climate change, said Tony Cañas of Insurance Nerds. “Being on the right side of this effort is going to be radically important for your employer brand and your ability to recruit and retain the best up and coming talent in the next couple of decades.”

About the study:

Insurance Nerds, a multimedia resource for insurance professionals, and Insure Our Future, a global campaign on climate change and insurance, teamed up to survey insurance professionals and university students studying risk management and insurance to learn their opinions about the industry’s role and responsibility to address climate change. In total, 345 insurance professionals completed the survey between June and August of 2021. Respondents hailed from 20 countries across five continents, with the majority (76 percent) in the U.S.