Last week, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an end to state investments in financial managers and companies that endorse and embrace the environmental, social, and corporate governance, or ESG, movement.
ESG is the left’s latest iteration to make companies and their boards captive to woke politics.
In a statement last week, after the State Board of Administration passed a resolution ending connections to ESG promoters, DeSantis said, “Corporate power has increasingly been utilized to impose an ideological agenda on the American people through the perversion of financial investment priorities under the euphemistic banners of environmental, social, and corporate governance and diversity, inclusion, and equity.”
“With the resolution we [the SBA] passed today, the tax dollars and proxy votes of the people of Florida will no longer be commandeered by Wall Street financial firms and used to implement policies through the board room that Floridians reject at the ballot box. We are reasserting the authority of republican governance over corporate dominance and we are prioritizing the financial security of the people of Florida over whimsical notions of a utopian tomorrow.”
But also last week, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis noted that ESG thinking is infecting the global insurance market.
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Patronis, as reported by the Florida Daily website, issued a lengthy statement at last week’s Florida Cabinet meeting urging the state to reject the ESG mindset.
“I believe ESG is un-American because global asset managers are using the woke standards, to re-engineer society, through billion-dollar industries. It’s undemocratic. Moreover, it appears it’s not confined to equities alone,” said Patronis, a Republican.
“It looks like insurance markets are beginning to write coverage based on ESG criteria.”
The CFO noted that ESG factors were considered “drivers” for 13 percent of global rating actions by AM Best, one of the top credit ratings agencies in the worldwide insurance market/
Patronis pointed out a report that indicated 30 percent of property and casualty insurance firms will give preferential treatment to policyholders who adopt “sustainability initiatives.” On the other hand, 27 percent will refuse coverage based on this criteria.
“That means a lot of woke businesses will get better insurance products, while others who ignore ESG criteria, may not get any coverage,” said Patronis. “All of this means if you’re not woke enough, certain insurers will not cover you.”
The CFO added that as some insurers join “the cult of ESG,” Florida must find out if insurance companies are charging a premium for ESG.
“We know that asset managers are telling insurers to focus more on climate change, or they’ll lose money, or be sued. Or both,” he added. “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 wokeism. In the same way families are paying for [President] Joe Biden’s inflation tax, Florida policyholders may be paying an ‘ESG fee’ in their policies.”
Patronis said New York’s Department of Financial Services, which regulates 1,800 carriers with $4.7 trillion in assets, is informing insurers that they must consider ESG risks in policies.
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“We need to fight ESG within the insurance markets because it’s another theater of battle,” said Patronis, who suggested that the Cabinet at its next meeting add an agenda item indicating the state of Florida opposes ESG initiatives within the insurance sector.
“Ultimately,” he concluded, “Florida policyholders should not be footing the bill for woke insurance.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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