As Lloyd’s of London moves away from coal is this the final nail in the coffin for Adani’s access to insurance?

Under pressure from the #StopAdani and #InsureOurFuture campaigns, Lloyd’s of London has just told its insurers to exclude new insurance for thermal coal mining, tar sands and arctic drilling by 2022 and phase out all insurance cover for these fossil fuels by 1 January 2030.

While the policy is a step in the right direction, significant gaps remain. Firstly, the end to taking on new thermal coal/tar sands/arctic oil contracts should be immediate, and the policy must be broadened to include all fossil fuels. However, even with these gaps, Adani’s climate-wrecking Carmichael coal project’s access to insurance is now in serious doubt.

Before this announcement seventeen Lloyd’s syndicates, including two of Adani’s current insurers, had already dumped the Carmichael project and Adani’s options in the Lloyd’s marketplace were rapidly shrinking. Adani had only gone to the Lloyd’s of London insurance market due to mainstream insurers AXA, HDI and Liberty Mutual cutting ties with the project in 2019. This new policy might very well be the final nail in the coffin for Adani’s hopes to renew its insurance via Lloyd’s.

Although it could be a lot stronger and more binding on its insurers, the new Lloyd’s sustainability policy is a step in the right direction and sends a clear message that taking on new thermal coal risks, such as the Adani Carmichael coal project, is not supported. This means the time has come for the hold-outs, such as Brit, Hiscox and Convex, to follow the Lloyd’s directive and rule out any insurance for the destructive Carmichael coal project once and for all.

Adani has always claimed that it “has the requisite insurance requirements in place”. Lloyd’s move puts a big question mark around that. Now that it is likely the Lloyd’s market will also turn its back, Adani’s lack of insurance for the construction and/or operation of Carmichael could see its creditors, shareholders and contractors bearing the significant risk.

Together we can continue to hold Lloyd’s and its syndicates to account until they all finally drop the disastrous Adani Carmichael coal project. Help us make sure that the insurance Adani so badly needs doesn’t get renewed under our watch.

Source: Market forces