INSURING COAL NO MORE

The 2019 Scorecard on Insurance, Coal and Climate Change reveals a growing trend of insurance companies exiting the coal sector. While 17 insurers have limited or ended cover for coal projects—controlling 9.5% of the primary insurance market and 46.4% of the reinsurance market—significant gaps remain. Most policies exclude new projects but continue to cover existing operations. Swiss Re and Zurich are identified as leaders in underwriting, while Legal & General leads in broader climate leadership. Conversely, many US and East Asian insurers are described as 'missing in action,' continuing to provide cover and investment for coal. The report argues that as insurance becomes harder to obtain, coal projects become less bankable, accelerating the industry's demise.

• A significant number of insurance and reinsurance companies are restricting their support for coal, with 17 companies having ended or limited cover for coal projects as of December 2019. These companies represent 9.5% of the primary insurance market and 46.4% of the reinsurance market.
• The retreat of insurers is creating tangible commercial disadvantages for the coal sector by reducing available capacity and increasing insurance rates.
• Divestment from coal is widespread among large insurers, with at least 35 companies possessing assets over $10 billion each adopting divestment policies, totaling approximately $8.9 trillion or 37% of global insurance assets.
• Swiss Re and Zurich are the top performers in ending coal insurance, as their policies cover both new and existing projects, as well as the companies operating within those sectors.
• There is a stark geographic divide in climate action; while most European and Australian insurers have adopted exit policies, many major US and East Asian insurers have not taken public steps to end coal cover.
• Many existing coal policies contain loopholes, such as excluding new projects while continuing to insure existing operations or excluding stand-alone projects while ignoring insurance packages with high coal content.
• The Adani Group's Carmichael coal mine in Australia serves as a critical example of the financial sector's shift, with at least 16 international insurers ruling out the project, contributing to its failure to secure construction insurance by September 2019.

APA

Bosshard, P. (2019). INSURING COAL NO MORE. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/mkjatrxk/insuring-coal-no-more-the-2019-scorecard-on-insurance-coal-and-climate-change-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

Bosshard, Peter. INSURING COAL NO MORE. ClientEarth, 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/mkjatrxk/insuring-coal-no-more-the-2019-scorecard-on-insurance-coal-and-climate-change-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bosshard |first1=Peter |title=INSURING COAL NO MORE |publisher=ClientEarth |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/mkjatrxk/insuring-coal-no-more-the-2019-scorecard-on-insurance-coal-and-climate-change-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bosshard2019insuring, author = {Bosshard, Peter}, title = {{INSURING COAL NO MORE}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/mkjatrxk/insuring-coal-no-more-the-2019-scorecard-on-insurance-coal-and-climate-change-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }