Markel Group Inc | Report on plans to mitigate material environmental risks at Markel Group Inc

Status
Filed
AGM date
Proposal number
5
Resolution details
Lead filer
Green Century Capital Management, Inc.
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Climate change
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company HQ country
United States
Supporting materials
  • Green-Century-Markel-Exempt-Solicitation-FY26-1.pdf Download
  • Markel Sustainability Report FY26.pdf Download
Resolved clause
Shareholders request that Markel issue a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, describing whether, and how, it will increase the scale, pace, and rigor of its strategies and action plans to mitigate material environmental risks to the business.
Whereas clause
Public sustainability reporting enables investors to make better informed decisions through a deeper understanding of enterprise and systemic risks and how companies manage them to deliver stable, long-term financial returns. Climate change exposes insurance companies to enterprise risks. In the first half of 2025, global insured losses from natural catastrophes were 40% higher than in the first half of 2024 and more than double the 21st-century average. Climate-related insurance losses pose macroeconomic consequences. To stay profitable in the face of increasing losses, insurers are raising premiums and reducing coverage. 2 A 2024 Senate Budget Committee Report predicts a collapse in property values with the potential to trigger a full-scale financial crisis. 3 Markel Group (Markel) is exposed to climate risk as an insurance underwriter and long-term investor in high-quality companies. Markel's 10-K notes that climate change may “adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition” due to “insured losses that exceed our expectations... [reductions in] our ability to accurately price our exposure to such events... [and change in] demand for insurance coverage.” 4 Further, Markel states its insurance business provides “the capital base from which [it] built a system of businesses and investments that collectively increase Markel Group's durability.” 5 Markel notes its support for the insurance industry's push for carbon neutrality on its website and states, “now is the time for the industry to wake up and start creating tools to prepare for potential systemic and clash events associated with climate change.” Despite publicly recognizing climate risk, Markel fails to publish sustainability disclosures that include an assessment of the impacts and risks of climate change. 6 Competitors, including Arch Capital Group, Chubb, Travelers, AIG, The Hartford, Allianz, and Zurich Insurance Group, disclose public sustainability reports with decision-useful information on initiatives and outcomes to address climate-related risks and opportunities. These reports include:
• Details on board oversight and governance of climate risk;
• Reports aligned with the Taskforce for Financial Related Disclosures (TCFD);
• Underwriting criteria for high-emitting sectors;
• Strategies to promote climate resilience;
• Climate scenario analyses and catastrophe modeling;
• Strategies and targets for reducing emissions associated with the company's operations and insuring, investing, and underwriting activities.
Markel could address investor concerns regarding climate-related risks and opportunities by publishing a comprehensive sustainability report, as the vast majority of its peers have done.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/08/global-insurance-industry-gap/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/12/18/climate/insurance-non-renewal-climate-crisis.html
https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/next_to_fall_the_climate-driven_insurance_crisis_is_here and_getting_worse.pdf
https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001096343/a1a1238a-df8d-452d-b6c0-84b4bee0eef0.pdf, 32
https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001096343/a1a1238a-df8d-452d-b6c0-84b4bee0eef0.pdf, 3
https://www.markel.com/about-us/news-and-press/spotlight-on-renewable-energy; https://www.markel.com/insights-and-resources/insights/climate-change-risk
Supporting statement
Proponents suggest, at management’s discretion, that the report be prepared in accordance with a recognized framework such as the TCFD, International Sustainability Standards Board, or Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

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