On Wednesday 14 May, environmental groups including Extinction Rebellion met delegates at Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference in Manchester Central with a colourful and dramatic protest. They were there to demand the industry stops backing fossil fuel projects.
And what better way to call out flush fossil fuel financiers than to put a sinking Lamborghini at the event’s front door?
BIBA insurance meeting: Europe’s fossil fuel financiers gather
BIBA is an annual meeting that brings together insurance professionals from across Europe. It describes itself as:
Europe’s largest insurance broking event
The conference’s theme for 2025 is ‘A New Era’.
Amongst the guest speakers was the former manager of the England men’s football team, Gareth Southgate.
Activists have targeted the event for three consecutive years to call out the role that insurance plays in enabling large fossil fuel projects.
A new report by Boycott Bloody Insurance shows that there are 33 British insurance companies active in large fossil fuel projects. Just five companies had invested $6.5bn. In April, campaigners in Manchester celebrated the decision by Chubb to rule out backing the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). They had targeted Chubb’s offices in Manchester on several occasions. In 2023, Patience Nabukalu, a young activist from Uganda, joined them. Marsh McLennan, who are the insurance brokers for EACOP despite a backlash from their staff, attended BIBA.
Extinction Rebellion stage creative actions against the insurance industry
Extinction Rebellion organised the day of action as part of its Insure Our Survival campaign. It saw a collaboration with Friends of the Earth, Manchester Greenpeace, and other groups. The day featured a programme of dramatic and impactful visual activities, which they invited the delegates to engage with:
The creative disruption kicked off outside Manchester Central just after 8am with the arrival of a life-sized model of a Lamborghini sports car:
This was made to look as though it sinking in flood waters to highlight the danger of extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis:
The car had been converted into a James Corden style Karaoke booth where activists sung pop songs about extreme weather and encouraged delegates to join them, and to do the right thing and abandon ties with insurance companies enabling fossil fuel projects.
‘A New Era’? Not for fossil fuels, flooding, fires, and climate breakdown
Across the day, there were multiple creative demonstrations. There was a climate choir, samba drummers, street theatre, synchronised dance known as Discobedience, and testimonies by people affected by extreme weather.
The Oil Slicks, an Extinction Rebellion performance group, made an appearance. The group highlighted the fact that fossil fuels must be kept in the ground, and that urgent action is required to address the climate crisis locally and across the globe.
Activists chalked the pavements with the dates of major flooding events, and representations of flood victims:
Martin Porter, a spokesperson for the coalition who organised the disobedient reception party, said ahead of the event:
We look forward to welcoming the delegates back to Manchester and hope we will inspire them to take action. 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.
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.
Featured image and additional images supplied
