Activists say new Chubb guidelines for oil and gas projects will rule out East Africa pipeline coverage

By Rebecca Delaney

April 22 - (The Insurer) - Chubb has ruled out underwriting oil and gas extraction projects that do not meet its new criteria on protected conservation areas, a move climate activists said would exclude coverage for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

Sustainable Insurer has previously reported that 29 (re)insurers have publicly distanced themselves from EACOP, a 1,443 kilometre pipeline planned for construction in Uganda and Tanzania. Rainforest Action Network said the new criteria were confirmation that Chubb will not provide insurance coverage to EACOP.

Chubb did not respond to a request for comment on its updated oil and gas underwriting criteria and conservation policy, which sets out standards for protected conservation areas. This included a ban on underwriting oil and gas extraction projects located in areas designated categories I to V of the World Database on Protected Areas, as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

These include nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks and monuments, habitat or species management areas, and protected landscapes and seascapes designated for protection by state, provincial or national governments.

Campaign groups have warned of residential and farming displacement, as well as pressure on water resources and other humanitarian concerns related to the EACOP, whose website shows it passing through or close to several recognised protected areas, including Burigi-Chato National Park, Tarangire National Park, and other wildlife management areas and forest reserves.

“Under the threat of climate and systems collapse, insurance should serve to protect communities from extreme weather events and should support resilient, locally rooted economies powered by socially owned renewables,” said Zaki Mamdoo, StopEACOP campaign coordinator.

Chubb's update said it is currently developing standards for projects in category VI areas (protected areas that allow sustainable use), as well as for oil and gas extraction projects in the Arctic, Key Biodiversity Areas, mangrove forests and global peatlands that are not currently listed in the World Database on Protected Areas.

"For midstream oil and gas operations, Chubb will no longer underwrite new greenfield projects that occur in IUCN management categories I-V in the World Database of Protected Areas," the updated policy said.

The most recent (re)insurer to publicly rule out providing coverage to the project was Probitas 1492 in March 2024, two months after five other (re)insurers had joined the list of carriers that had publicly distanced themselves from involvement in the project: RiverStone International, Enstar Group, SiriusPoint, Blenheim, SA Meacock.