Climate campaigners hit Biba conference for third year running

By Rebecca Delaney

May 14 - (The Insurer) - Environmental activists have targeted the annual conference of the British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) for a third consecutive year, with calls for the industry to abandon any involvement in providing insurance to fossil fuel infrastructure.

The protest began outside the conference centre in Manchester at 08:00 a.m. BST. it was coordinated by Extinction Rebellion as part of its Insure Our Survival campaign, which was launched in October last year.

Campaigners organised songs, synchronised dance and drumming sessions, with a model Lamborghini car appearing to sink into flood waters.

They also read out testimonies from UK residents affected by extreme weather events.

The protestors criticised the theme of this year's Biba conference ('A new era'). The group, which has previously targeted industry gatherings including the annual congress in Monte Carlo and Baden-Baden, said in a statement that it was carrying out the protest to highlight the “symptoms of climate breakdown,” which it said the companies the Biba conference attendees are brokering insurance for are responsible for creating.

"The insurance industry is well aware of the risk from climate change and cannot continue to ignore the issue. ‘Business as usual’ is not an option," said spokesperson Martin Porter.

"Biba needs to decide if ‘A New Era’ means floods, fires, heatwaves and climate chaos, or one where brokers refuse to enable carbon bomb projects. We call on each and every one of the delegates to become climate heroes themselves and to help change their industry."

Last year, the annual Biba conference was disrupted by activists from the #StopEACOP campaign, which called on carriers and brokers to publicly rule out providing insurance coverage to the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.

The year prior, Biba was pushed to implement precautionary measures for the conference venue ahead of an EACOP-related movement.

The annual conference, which will be attended by more than 9,500 insurance professionals from across the UK, runs until Thursday.