Marsh has announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind insurance and reinsurance facility that provides dedicated capacity for new and existing green and blue hydrogen energy projects.
The facility was developed by Marsh in collaboration with Liberty Specialty Markets, part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, and AIG. It provides up to US$300 million of cover per risk for the construction and startup phases of hydrogen products globally.
Investment in green and blue hydrogen initiatives is expected to surpass US$150 billion by 2025 as traditional energy operators, governments and industry move to meet carbon-reduction requirements. However, operators have found it challenging to secure adequate insurance market provision for the new and emerging technologies involved, Marsh said.
Marsh’s facility is backed by a panel of A-rated global insurers, led by AIG and Liberty Specialty Markets. It is structured flexibly to enable clients to choose coverage for the construction or startup phase, or a combined risk policy that extends to first-year operations. The facility provides risk transfer options for all construction and operational phase property damage risks, and also includes marine cargo, business interruption, general third-party liability, and contingent delay-in-startup insurance.
“Marsh’s facility is an important development for the insurance industry that will help enable the acceleration of the global energy transition to renewables,” said Andrew George, global head of energy and power at Marsh Specialty. “As the global hydrogen industry, especially green hydrogen, scales up rapidly to meet demand, the facility will reduce the complexity of securing risk transfer options for operators of all sizes and boosts investor and lender confidence in achieving their ambitious project time frames.”
“We are delighted to collaborate with Marsh to bring this solution to the market,” said Lesley Harding, global head of energy at Liberty Specialty Markets. “This is another example of how Liberty is providing industry-leading technical expertise to assess, quantify and underwrite emerging technology risks. Our ambition is to be the strategic insurance partner for clients engaged in the energy transition.”
“At AIG, we are keen to elevate the industry standard, so we proactively collaborate with our partners to devise new and impactful insurance solutions in support of our clients’ changing needs,” said James Langdon, AIG UK head of energy and construction. “This innovative solution is one of many initiatives that we are working on with our clients and broker partners in support of the energy transition and our net-zero commitments.”
