Insurance companies’ investment in arms industry soars

Written by Adam Cadle

07/04/2025

Major insurance companies, active in the UK, increased their investment in manufacturers of controversial weapons by 13% in the period from September 2024 to December 2024.

According to research published by the campaign group, Boycott Bloody Insurance, insurance companies channelled $260m more towards companies involved in this area – a category which includes phosphorous, depleted uranium and nuclear weapons.

Earlier this month, the same researchers showed that companies active in the British insurance market actively increased their investments in firms involved in supplying Israel with military equipment over the last year.

Andrew Taylor from the campaign said: “Insurance companies are a vital part of the global financial system. Their investments help drive the economy. Without the insurance they provide, other companies can’t operate. And yet these major household brands are providing money and underwriting services to companies whose core business is mass slaughter, mutilation of children, and machines of devastation. Often, these companies claim to have socially responsible investment policies, and yet they are using their customers’ money to prop up some of the least responsible firms on the planet, directly contradicting their own policies.

“As global conflict and uncertainty escalate, these titans of the financial services sector are rushing money behind firms who will benefit from more conflict, more war and more chaos. We urgently need de-escalation of global violence, and are calling on businesses and organisations to boycott all insurance companies which invest in, and underwrite, firms involved in or associated with these controversial weapons.”

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