Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow has filed a lawsuit against Chubb, challenging the insurance company’s decision to exclude a shareholder resolution from going to a vote at its 2026 AGM.
The resolution requests that Chubb commission a third-party report assessing whether pursuing subrogation claims against parties responsible for climate change would benefit the company and make home insurance more affordable.
As You Sow President Danielle Fugere stated: “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.”
In January, the company notified As You Sow that it intended to exclude the proposal from its proxy materials. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in November last year that companies will not require regulatory approval to exclude shareholder resolutions under rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act.
The lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Public Citizen Litigation Group, representing As You Sow, is seeking a court order to require Chubb to include the resolution in its proxy ballot.
Nicolas Sansone, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group, said the case implicates "the right of a company’s shareholders to have their voices heard on matters of great significance to long-term corporate strategy”.
He argued: “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.”