~ Says Florida Policyholders Should Not be Footing the Bill for Woke Insurance ~

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis said Florida must push back against “Environmental, Social, and Governance” standards – known as ESG – which is beginning to spread throughout the global insurance market. The CFO made the comments at a meeting of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO said the state entity charged with regulating insurers, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR), must assess the role of ESG in insurance markets, so Florida can better fight back.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said, “I believe ESG is un-American because global asset managers are using the woke-standards, to reengineer society, through billion-dollar industries. It’s undemocratic. Moreover, it appears it’s not confined to equities alone. It looks like insurance markets are beginning to write coverage based on ESG criteria. As Florida is doing a lot of great work, I believe that we should be engaging the Office of Insurance Regulation to assess ESG’s role with insurance. We need to fight ESG within the insurance markets because it’s another theater of battle.”

At the Florida Cabinet meeting, the CFO pointed to a number of reports on how ESG standards are being utilized in global insurance markets through asset managers:
• ESG factors were considered “drivers” for 13% of AM Best’s global ratings actions. AM Best is a credit ratings agency that scores insurers.
• Capgemini said in a report that 30% of Property & Casualty insurers will offer preferential treatment to policyholders who adopt “sustainability initiatives.” Meanwhile, 27% will refuse coverage based on this criteria.
• At the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero Conference, 450 firms agreed to align $130 trillion in assets with the Paris Agreement.
• The New York Department of Financial Services is telling the insurers that they must take into account ESG risks. New York regulates 1,800 carriers who manage around $4.7 trillion in assets.

The CFO continued, “That means a lot of woke businesses will get better insurance products, while others who ignore ESG criteria, may not get any coverage. All of this means if you’re not woke enough, certain insurers will not cover you. Meanwhile, as certain insurance companies have joined the cult of ESG, Florida is experiencing a hardening insurance market. If insurance companies are charging a premium for ESG, then we need to know about it. We know that asset managers are telling insurers to focus more on climate change, or they’ll lose money, or be sued. Or both.

“One insurance expert at Price Waterhouse Cooper said, ‘[P]roperty insurers will also be working harder on influencing how governments react to mitigate and monitor drivers of climate risk...’ That means insurers are planning to increase rates, or reduce coverage, to force governments to address ESG standards. By their own admission, insurance is being used for social engineering, and I am concerned that Florida policyholders may be footing the bill for this woke-ism. In the same way families are paying for Joe Biden’s inflation tax, Florida policyholders may be paying an ‘ESG fee’ in their policies.”

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis 
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and X (@FLDFS).