I was going to pop this into one of the nuclear power discussions but thought it was kind of interesting on its own and didn't need to muck up those other threads.
Glastonbury insurer of nuclear plants sees no exposure in Japan tragedy
Brad Kane
Hartford Business Journal
A Glastonbury specialty firm generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually insuring half of the world’s 441 nuclear power plants, including the earthquake-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan.
As the world watches technicians at the Japanese nuclear site try to avert further disaster, officials at American Nuclear Insurers in Glastonbury watch events through a different lens.
ANI has spent 54 years insuring against problems large and small at nuclear plants. Company officials say the Japan situation creates multiple short- and long-term ramifications for an already complex industry. But the immediate crisis appears to create no liability for ANI, officials say, because its Fukushima Daiichi reinsurance policy excludes earthquake and flood damage.
“There’s never been an event like this, to be honest with you,” said Ron Sanacore, ANI senior vice president of operations.
ANI is the only U.S. company of its kind. It was created after the Price-Anderson Act of 1957 provided insurance at America’s nuclear sites and has policies with all 104 American nuclear plants. Premiums per site average between $800,000 and $1 million annually.
ANI also provides reinsurance for nuclear sites around the globe. Its reinsurance policy with Japan Atomic Energy Insurance Pool includes property liability coverage for some of the country’s plants and third-party liability coverage for all of Japan’s nuclear plants.
Total insurance costs for the Japan earthquake and tsunami are estimated at $35-$100 billion, but the exposure for ANI appears to be zero.
SNIP