As You Sow Files Lawsuit Challenging Chubb’s Refusal to Put Shareholder Proposal Addressing Climate-Driven Insurance Crisis on Company Proxy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lawsuit challenges insurer’s action blocking shareholders from voting on whether Chubb should evaluate the potential for cost-recovery from responsible parties to help keep homeowners insurance affordable amid rising climate losses.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, [email protected], (310) 730-9407
Washington D.C. – March 3, 2026 – As You Sow, the nation’s leading shareholder representative, today filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against global insurance giant Chubb Limited, challenging the company’s decision to exclude a shareholder proposal from its 2026 proxy materials. Public Citizen Litigation Group represents As You Sow in the case, which seeks a court order requiring Chubb to include the proposal on its 2026 proxy ballot.
The proposal asks shareholders to vote on whether Chubb should commission a report assessing whether pursuing subrogation claims against parties responsible for climate change could reduce losses, benefit shareholders, and help preserve affordable homeowners insurance.
On January 13, 2026, Chubb notified As You Sow of its intent to exclude the proposal.
As You Sow’s proposal addresses a significant policy issue—the affordability and availability of homeowners insurance in the face of climate change—that directly impacts the company’s long-term financial sustainability and carries broad societal implications. Shareholder proposals concerning such significant policy issues must legally be put before shareholders for a vote at the annual general meeting.
This lawsuit follows the SEC’s decision to abandon its longstanding role as a neutral arbiter in the shareholder proposal process. In November 2025, the SEC announced that it would no longer review corporate no-action requests under Rule 14a-8, effectively forcing these matters into court—an expensive and lengthy process. By stepping back from its longstanding role, the SEC left investors and companies without the interpretive guidance and administrative venue they have historically relied upon to resolve these disputes without litigation. In light of this changed regulatory landscape, As You Sow is seeking judicial relief to protect its shareholder rights.
As You Sow’s lawsuit against Chubb is the latest in a growing wave of shareholder litigation prompted by the SEC’s withdrawal. Nathan Cummings Foundation recently filed suit against Axon Enterprise to prevent the company from excluding a proposal on political spending transparency. And, in a sign that these lawsuits can produce results, AT&T settled with four New York City pension funds in February, and Pepsi settled with PETA, with both companies agreeing to include the excluded proposals on their proxy ballots.
Homeowners Are Paying the Price for Climate Change
The United States is in the grip of a deepening, climate-related homeowners insurance crisis. In 2023, national insurance underwriting losses hit a 10-year high of $38 billion as climate-fueled disasters grew more frequent and severe. Homeowners’ premiums surged 34% between 2017 and 2023, with another 10.4% increase in 2024, while approximately 1.9 million policies have been non-renewed since 2018. This approach transfers climate costs and risks to policyholders and taxpayers, leaves more homeowners uninsured, and strains state-run FAIR plans—contributing to instability in the housing market and the broader economy.
“Homeowners are not responsible for the climate crisis, yet they are the ones bearing the cost,” said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow. “Insurance companies are raising rates and dropping coverage because of climate-related disasters, but the parties most responsible—the major fossil fuel producers—are not being held accountable. Our proposal simply asks Chubb to evaluate whether recovering costs from responsible parties could help keep insurance affordable for the families and communities that depend on it.”
“This case also implicates the right of a company’s shareholders to have their voices heard on matters of great significance to long-term corporate strategy,” said Nicolas Sansone, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and the lead lawyer on the case. “SEC rules forbid a company from excluding shareholder proposals, like As You Sow’s, that go beyond day-to-day business operations and require the evaluation of matters related to important public policy issues.”
As You Sow’s shareholder resolution requests that Chubb commission a third-party report assessing whether pursuing subrogation claims for climate-related losses – where insurers stand in the shoes of their insureds to recoup costs from responsible parties – would benefit the company and its policyholders. Subrogation is a well-established industry practice already used routinely for auto accidents, product defects, and other insured losses. Seeking contributions from responsible companies, including fossil fuel companies, can help stem the insurance affordability crisis by offsetting catastrophic climate-related costs now borne by homeowners, while also pricing climate risk into the market for high-carbon products.
Attribution science has advanced to the point where responsibility for climate change can be assigned to specific parties, and recent legislative proposals in California and Hawaii have encouraged insurers to pursue subrogation against high-emitting companies. Chubb experienced $2.4 billion in pre-tax catastrophe losses in 2024, up from $1.8 billion the prior year.
“Who bears the cost of climate change?” said Fugere. “Right now, that burden is falling on homeowners and communities who did nothing to cause the crisis. Shareholders have a right to ask whether there’s a better way—and Chubb should not be allowed to silence that question.”
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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. As You Sow addresses a range of issues that affect shareholder value including climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity, racial justice, and workplace diversity. See As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.