SEVEN leading insurers have been accused of shielding Britain’s largest private contractors running immigration accommodation and detention centres from legal and financial accountability.

Boycott Bloody Insurance campaign group released a report today accusing Aviva, AIG, QBE, RSA, Hiscox, AXA and Allianz of working for contractors Serco Group, Mitie, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Mears.

“These companies permitted 42 deaths in detention since 2000, countless suicide attempts, and a litany of documented abuses,” it said.

Report author Monika Nielsen added: “By insuring detention contractors with documented histories of abuse, insurers like Aviva are prioritising profit over people. 

“Insurance not only facilitates ongoing operations but also absorbs the financial risks of legal challenges, effectively shielding these companies from full accountability. 

“Communities nationwide are starting to wake up to these atrocities and mobilise for institutions to boycott complicit insurers.”

AXA, Aviva, Allianz, and Intact Insurance have collectively invested more than £88 million in five leading British detention, accommodation and surveillance contractors, the report says.

Malachi Abbas, a campaigner from Shareholders Show-up Coalition with lived experience of detention and GPS tagging, said: “Though the forces of oppression may seem unbearable, our collective spirit will remain unbreakable. 

“We must challenge the status quo, demanding accountability from those who profit from suffering, and we will emerge even stronger in our pursuit of justice.”

The research was released to coincide with Refugee Week and was endorsed by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Medact, Migrants Organise, No Borders in Climate Justice, People and Planet and Climate Resistance.

The insurers and contractors have been contacted for comment.