Another insurer abandons coal, oil sands

Environmental advocates are claiming another victory in their fight to persuade insurers to sever ties with the fossil fuel industry. Insurance firm Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. announced a policy last week that it will not provide new insurance or facultative reinsurance for the construction of new thermal coal plants or mines and their dedicated infrastructure. The same applies for oil sands extraction and pipeline projects, as well as for companies that produce 30% or more of their revenue or power from thermal coal or hold over 20% of reserves in oil sands. The policy change follows a similar decision by U.S. insurer Chubb Ltd., which said in July that it would not underwrite new plants or companies heavily reliant on revenues or energy from coal production. Chubb was the first major U.S. insurance company to adopt such a position (Climatewire, July 12).

Axis is the first specialty insurer to adopt a policy on any fossil fuel, according to the environmental group Rainforest Action Network (RAN). The policy from the Bermuda-based company goes into effect Jan. 1 and said renewals will be considered on a case-by-case basis until January 2023. "We believe insurers have an important role to play in mitigating climate risk and transitioning to a low-carbon economy," said Albert Benchimol, president and CEO of Axis. Read Full Article - E&E News, October 21, 2019