Early on August 14, about 20 people from Galilee Blockade protested outside insurance company AON, calling on it to cease working with Adani.
AON is brokering the insurance needed for BMD, a Queensland-based company, to construct Adani’s coal railway line from Abbot Point to the Galilee Basin in Queensland.
AON is helping other Adani contractors in their search for insurance coverage.
AON is also advising Adani on self-insurance, a risky business, as contractors who know anything about Adani’s resistance to fulfil its obligations will be reluctant to take on the work.
Almost 20 global insurance companies have refused to cover Adani’s Carmichael coal mine, largely because of the financial and commercial risks.
If Adani can’t find companies willing to provide insurance, this leaves CEO Gautam Adani to foot the bill when something goes wrong.
The risks of operating without insurance could easily be the last straw.
Adani has approached Lloyd’s of London in a last-ditch effort to find insurance. Lloyd’s is an insurance marketplace — a last resort where insurance buyers and sellers try to cobble together insurance for some of the riskiest corporate projects.
By pushing prominent Lloyd’s insurer WR Berkley to rule out Adani, activists could knock out the piece that sends the whole project tumbling.
The insurance policies of Adani’s key contractors are due for renewal in the coming months. Now is the time to urge all insurance companies to cut their ties with Adani.
The movement to stop Adani, including the courageous resistance of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners, has already pushed Lloyd’s insurer Aspen to rule out future policies with Adani. Aspen’s deal expires early next year.
Adani’s insurance is a house of cards and together the movement is shaking its foundations.