This chart provides data on insurer holdings in Corporate-Owned Utilities, Municipally-Owned Utilities, Oil and Gas, Thermal Coal, and Other fossil fuel investments. As indicated by the chart, there was only minimal change in these holdings between 2015 and 2017. The Department continues to monitor insurer investments in fossil fuels and thermal coal enterprises in particular. While the absolute value of insurer’s fossil fuel investments has increased 5% from 2016 to 2017 (555 Billion vs 586 Billion), the relative value of exposure did not change materially. Total fossil fuel exposure as a percentage of assets under management remained flat at approximately 10.8%.
This graph represents year over year changes in insurers’ investments in corporate-owned and municipally-owned utilities and the percentage of those assets that are in utilities that generate 30% or more of their power from thermal coal and the percentage of those assets that are in utilities that generate 50% or more of their power from thermal coal, oil and gas. The graph also shows what percentage of utilities are below those thresholds as they are powered by less than 30% coal or less than 50% of thermal coal, oil and gas.