Insurer Talanx drops support for Trans Mountain; Munich Re could follow

Subsidiaries of both companies were named on Trans Mountain’s current Certificate of Insurance, which lists 11 companies providing US$ 508 million of liability insurance for the 12 months to 31 August 2020.

• Talanx said that it pulled out of the project in 2019 and the current insurance certificate wrongly named its subsidiary HDI Global SE as providing US$ 85 million of cover jointly with other insurers. Talanx adopted a policy limiting oilsands underwriting in 2020.
• Munich Re said it would review its support for Trans Mountain in the light of its new policy on tar sands, adopted in 2020, which rules out insuring oilsands extraction projects and dedicated oilsands infrastructure, such as pipelines. Its Canadian subsidiary Temple Insurance is Trans Mountain’s third biggest insurer, providing US$ 250 million of cover, jointly with other insurers.
• Zurich’s continued support is also in doubt after its announcement in June 2019 that it will end underwriting operators of oilsands pipelines, although it added that it would engage with them over a two year period.

These statements from HDI and Munich Re will put pressure on Lloyd’s, Liberty Mutual, and the other insurers that have not yet commented on the project. European insurers Lloyd’s, Zurich, and Chubb’s European Group, are Trans Mountain’s biggest backers.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/30062020/insurer-talanx-drops-support-for-trans-mountain-munich-re-could-follow/