Number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal more than doubles in 2019

Written by Adam Cadle

02/12/2019

The number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal has more than doubled in 2019 as the industry’s retreat from the sector accelerates and spreads beyond Europe, the Unfriend Coal campaign’s third annual scorecard on the industry has revealed.

Ten companies have announced restrictions on coal insurance in 2019, including the first US insurers, taking the global total to 17. They control 46% of the reinsurance market and 9.5% of the primary insurance market. Most refuse to insure new mines and power plants and industry leaders are going further.

Thirty-five insurers have now divested coal from over one-third (37%) of the industry’s global assets – roughly $8.9trn of investments. This has grown from 19 companies with $6trn in 2018.

Unfriend Coal campaign coordinator Peter Bosshard said: “The role of insurers is to manage society’s risks – it is their duty and in their own interest to help avoid climate breakdown. The industry’s retreat from coal is gathering pace as public pressure on the fossil fuel industry and its supporters grows.

“However, major US and Asian insurers continue to undermine international climate action by insuring and investing in coal projects. All responsible companies must make coal uninsurable by ending support for both new and existing mines and power plants, including the Adani Group’s destructive Carmichael coal mine in Australia.”

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