As You Sow v. Chubb Limited

As You Sow is a nonprofit organization that holds shares in Chubb Limited, an insurer. Concerned that the increasing frequency of destructive weather events is driving up the price of home insurance, As You Sow proposed that Chubb should commission a report on the possibility of seeking compensation from third-party polluters rather than passing the costs of climate change on to insured homeowners. Chubb refused to include As You Sow’s proposal in the materials that it sends to shareholders who are unable to attend Chubb’s annual shareholder meeting to inform them about what proposals will be voted on at the meeting and to give them an opportunity to vote by proxy.

Representing As You Sow, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against Chubb in federal district court, alleging that Chubb’s decision to exclude the proposal violates a Securities and Exchange Commission rule promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that requires companies to include a shareholder proposal in their proxy materials unless it falls into an enumerated exception. The complaint asks the court to declare that no exception applies and to require Chubb to include the proposal in its proxy materials for its 2026 shareholder meeting.