EXCLUSIVE: Consumer Group Wants Insurers Investigated for ‘Woke’ Policies

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A consumer advocacy organization is asking the House Oversight Committee to examine whether major insurance companies are allowing wokeness to shape business decisions.

Consumers’ Research President Will Hild wrote a letter to Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., claiming that large insurers are “leveraging their market power, corporate governance practices, and public-facing programs to advance ideological objectives at the expense of consumers.”

He presented the organization’s consumer warning on Chubb Insurance as an example, claiming the company pushed left-wing policies for years before appearing to downplay those positions.

The consumer organization raised concerns about potential diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Chubb, as well as environmental and social governance initiatives.

Because Americans depend on insurers for protection, wokeness can pose a particular harm to them, the letter says, as “the consequences can extend well beyond corporate messaging and impact underwriting, governance, consumer choice, and public trust.”

“Our Consumer Warning identifies Chubb as the most troubling example in the industry,” Hild wrote.

Consumers’ Research reviewed public statements, archived corporate materials, and other sources and found a “pattern of activism far afield from the ordinary business of underwriting risk.”

“Among other things, the report raises questions about Chubb’s DEI-related policies, support for outside activist organizations, and posture on contested social issues,” the letter says. “The report also points to public statements and international relationships with the Chinese Communist Party involving Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg that Congress may wish to examine more closely in light of current geopolitical concerns.”

Chubb is not the only insurer highlighted by Consumers’ Research. The organization pointed to Liberty Mutual and Nationwide “as part of a broader industry trend in which large insurers or insurance-affiliated institutions increasingly use corporate influence to take positions on contested political and social questions that many consumers never asked them to arbitrate.”

“Whether or not each example ultimately reflects unlawful conduct, the pattern is serious enough to justify congressional review,” Hild continued.