Why This UK Insurance Broker is Turning Away Businesses That Sell Animal Products

British business insurance broker Really Honest has announced it will refuse new clients that produce or sell animal products, alongside other “destructive” services. Its founder explains why.

For years, there has been a debate around whether vegans should pay lower life insurance premiums, given that the diet has been consistently linked to much better health outcomes than one rich in meat and dairy.

Several insurance providers across the world, including in the UK, the US, and Australia, did come out with schemes that offered vegans and vegetarians discounts on life insurance policies, the argument being that these consumers are knowingly lowering the risk of harm to their body.

It’s on a similar philosophy of minimising harm that Really Honest, an insurance broker for businesses, has made its latest pledge.

The firm, formerly known as Fuelled Group, will now turn away businesses that produce or sell animal products such as meat or dairy. It’s part of a larger promise to stop accepting clients involved in “destructive” sectors – think fossil fuels, weapons, animal captivity for entertainment, deforestation or destructive mining, and gambling.

“It’s a natural extension of the values we’ve built Really Honest around since becoming a B Corp. It’s not just animal products – we have a number of harmful industries we won’t work with,” founder Steven Darrah tells Green Queen.

One of the catalysts behind the decision was the appointment of Andy Shovel, co-founder of plant-based meat brand This and an animal rights campaigner, as a non-executive director and advisor.

“Andy joining the board played a huge part in how we shaped the business,” says Darrah. “His personal beliefs are inspiring, and we’ve really learned a lot.”

Really Honest’s pledge largely supported by clients

The ethical pledge applies to new businesses at the point of quote and doesn’t claim that every existing client is policed by them or is free of animal products.

“As an FCA-regulated broker, we have a duty of care to the clients that already insure with us,” Darrah explains when asked why the policy doesn’t apply to Really Honest’s existing clients.

“Withdrawing or refusing to renew cover overnight would leave a business exposed through no fault of their own. This pledge is about the choices we make going forward, not a retrospective judgement on people who signed up before it existed.”

Still, it’s a drastic move that is bound to ruffle some feathers. “No judgement that we’re aware of from current clients, but we’ve definitely had a few snide comments from the wider public,” says Darrah.

“We’ve been working [with] purpose-led businesses for some time now, so most are supportive of what we’re trying to achieve,” he adds.

Aside from the animal product pledge, Really Honest is further looking to overturn convention through a bunch of other “industry firsts”. For instance, if a client makes only one claim a year, and it’s under £25,000, the broker won’t raise prices.

It also offers a discount for each claim-free year, mirroring the car insurance market. Moreover, it shares the communications between the broker and insurer during the claims process.

Move costs ‘some revenue’ in the short term

“Values that never cost you anything are just marketing. If a business makes or sells animal products, we’re not its broker. We would rather lose the premium than profit from something we believe causes harm,” says Darrah.

“Plant-based founders are pioneering alternatives to animal products. Their broker should not be earning commission from the industries they are trying to replace.”

He tells Green Queen that the food and beverage sector is a “meaningful part” of Really Honest’s business, so the move “costs us some revenue in the short term”: “My personal stance is that we’d rather build a smaller book of clients we’re proud of than a bigger one we’re not.”

Darrah points out that the discourse around plant-based diets, health and life insurance premiums falls outside his firm’s scope. “We’re a commercial broker, so our world is business liability and property risk,” he says. “If the evidence genuinely supports lower risk, that’s a decision for insurers to make responsibly based on actuarial data.”

In the UK, Animal Friends Insurance had launched a life insurance scheme for vegetarians back in 2001, giving them a 25% discount for the first 12 months as they were found to be less likely to suffer from chronic illness than meat-eaters. Six years later, the company unveiled another scheme offering a 6% discount on premiums to vegetarians and pescatarians.