Arctic drilling exclusion

The Arctic drilling exclusion refers to the voluntary commitment, made by a growing number of insurers and reinsurers since the early 2020s, to no longer provide property, liability or construction cover for new oil and gas exploration or drilling projects in the Arctic region. This exclusion differs from broader coal policies in being geographic rather than sectoral in nature: it targets an ecosystem seen as particularly vulnerable and symbolically charged, where a drilling accident would be both harder to contain given extreme climate conditions and more costly reputationally for the insurer involved. In practice, the exclusion most often covers new projects, temporarily leaving aside existing installations already covered, a distinction that limits the immediate impact on the portfolio while closing the door to future growth of the activity. For oil operators targeting the region, the accumulation of these commitments has a cumulative effect on the very insurability of the sector, with a project potentially facing an insufficient number of willing insurers even before the question of price arises.

Several major international insurers and reinsurers, including AIG and Chubb, announced in the early 2020s that they would stop covering new oil and gas exploration projects in the Arctic, joining a growing list of players excluding the region.

Arctic exclusion, exclusion forage arctique, politique arctique assureur