Home > Hold-out Lloyd’s insurers increasingly isolated as MS Amlin says no to Adani

Hold-out Lloyd’s insurers increasingly isolated as MS Amlin says no to Adani

8 April 2021

8 April 2021

This week, MS Amlin, the last of the top five Lloyd’s insurers yet to commit to not insure the disastrous Adani Carmichael thermal coal project finally joined its competitors, with its CEO Johan Slabbert publishing the following statement on LinkedIn:

With MS Amlin’s commitment, the only insurer left out of the ten biggest Lloyd’s insurers still open to insuring Adani is Tokio Marine.

The #StopAdani campaign has narrowed the field to nine key Lloyd’s insurers overall which have yet to provide a statement about whether they are insuring the destructive Adani Carmichael coal project or intend to do so in the future. In total, 33 major insurance companies have now publicly ruled out providing insurance for the climate-destroying Carmichael coal project due to its fueling of the climate crisis and other environmental and human rights impacts. This figure includes three of Adani Carmichael’s existing insurers, Aspen, Apollo and Brit, which have ruled out renewing insurance.

In 2020 a Lloyd’s of London employee confirmed that the construction of the Adani Carmichael coal mine and rail line were being insured via its marketplace. Over the last 12 months, #StopAdani groups from all over Australia have been contacting Lloyd’s insurers that are known to insure coal mines, railways and/or major construction to ask if they are insuring Adani Carmichael and if they intend to do so in the future.

Out of all the Lloyd’s syndicates, these nine remain a concern:

LogoCompanyCountryStatement
Ark InsuranceUK-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
Ascot GroupBermuda-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
Hamilton Insurance GroupBermuda"Hamilton is completing the integration of businesses acquired during a deal with Liberty Mutual. Once we finalize our integration, which is expected to be in mid 2021, we will review our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles to ensure they reflect the underwriting guidelines of our expanded enterprise."

Statement does not rule out current or future insurance for Adani Carmichael
Inigo InsuranceUK-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
LancashireUK-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
MarkelUSA-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
StarrUSA"Starr companies has no involvement in the Carmichael mine project."

Note: This statement is from late 2018, before Lloyd's got involved in insuring Carmichael and it does not rule out future underwriting.
Managing Agency Partners (MAP)UK-- FAILED TO RESPOND --
W.R.B Underwriting
(a W.R. Berkley subsidiary)
USA-- FAILED TO RESPOND --

The fact that Adani has gone to the Lloyd’s market for insurance shows that its options are already very limited, as the Lloyd’s market specialises in particularly difficult or complex risks.

Without insurance, Adani cannot build or operate its disastrous coal mine and rail line. If Adani cannot renew its insurance coverage via the Lloyd’s market it is possible that come October this year (when, based on the available evidence, some insurance contracts may expire) it will be without the insurance it needs to safely operate its mine.

TAKE ACTION:

Unfortunately, some Lloyd’s insurers have blocked our email actions coming through the Market Forces website thinking that would silence us, but we have now created a workaround to make sure that your email will still reach them.

Make sure you’re signed-in to your email program and then use this form to tell the remaining Lloyd’s insurers that insuring Carmichael coal is terrible for the climate, the Great Barrier Reef, water supplies, biodiversity and their reputations!