By William Fremlin-Key, Global Mining & Metals Leader, Willis Natural Resources
We assess the global capacity for any one mining risk to be in the region of $1.5 billion, an increase on our assessment last year.
An influx of reinsurance capital (across both risk and catastrophe cover) sets the backdrop for the healthy capacity available across both specialist and non-specialist mining insurers. For the specialist mining market, there’s been a slight uptick in capacity and coverage for key mining-specific exposures such as tailings and underground.
Pricing is in freefall
Raising questions about sustainability. “Undoubtedly it is a good time to be a buyer of insurance, however, we encourage all insureds to consider the cyclicality of the insurance market – the components for a potentially aggressive correction are being assembled now. A significant market loss could have wide-reaching repercussions and see a sharp increase in rates and tightening of terms”
Despite the absence of major loss events in the last year, attritional claims from natural catastrophe (nat cat) or weather-related incidents have eroded specialist markets’ profitability, but generally carriers are still in the black. Nevertheless “some of the technical mining markets have reached walk-away points in terms of rate or rate reduction, and been prepared to lose renewals” Anna Lyakhovskaya, Mining & Metals Broker, Willis Natural Resources. Getting the balance right will serve mining companies well in the medium- to long-term.
Conditions: In a soft market, nothing is off the table.
Coverage has become the trade-off.Insurers that are keen to maintain and build their market share are demonstrating increased flexibility to consider placements that have been historically more challenging. Where one insurer breaks rank, it can make it difficult for other carriers to hold firm on conditions in an environment where underwriters are chasing premium.
Freddie Fife | Associate Director, Mining & Metals, Willis Natural Resources: There’s opportunity here. The pendulum has swung in buyers’ favor after years of hard market challenges and now is the time to open up negotiations on coverage for challenging exposures.”
When pricing has hit the floor and conditions are broadening, there’s one lever left in insurers’ arsenal: deductibles. Despite the positive commodity profile for many metals and minerals, the market is reaching a point where insurers need to flex deductibles to attract and retain business. In a soft market, nothing is off the table.
Reactionary underwriting remains
Underwriters are restricting cover around mining-induced seismicity. Following the 2024 Çöpler mine (Turkey) and Eagle Gold (Canada) leach pad failures, underwriters refocused their efforts to delineate the breadth of cover they are willing to provide.
Various carriers introduced leach pad exclusion clauses and increased their underwriting due diligence of the geotechnical, design and management of these assets. The level of information required to underwrite these risks now closely aligns with that required by insurers to consider tailings exposures.
There’s widespread recognition of the need for improved standards
Underwriters are scrutinizing tailings management practices. Many mining companies have either committed to adopting the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) or are on a pathway to adoption. Any miner that has not committed to conformance with the standards is experiencing greater underwriting scrutiny on tailings management.
Looking ahead: Key steps to optimizing risk strategies in a soft market
1. Articulating robust data-driven risk information to underwriters will help miners capitalize on the market dynamics. For more challenging risks such as tailings, demonstrating adoption or conformance to GISTM, due diligence in conducting regular third-party surveys, stability studies, dam break analyses, as well as insurance risk engineering surveys to identify exposures, model scenarios and implement risk controls, will demonstrate a proactive and responsible approach to risk management.
2. Take these insights to market. Brokers have a key role in marketing mining risks – both favorable and challenging – to underwriters. Armed with robust risk information, a sector-focused specialist broker will be able to articulate clear and data-driven insights to help underwriters make informed decisions and open the door to covering more challenging risks.
3. Relationships are key. Brokers with longstanding relationships with markets will be able to provide practical advice and guidance. In some cases, renewing with historical partner insurers (despite less favorable pricing) may be the best strategy to demonstrate commitment that will be valuable when market conditions change, however it is also worth maintaining connections with insurers with whom there is no longer a business relationship.
WTW Mining Risk Review 2025
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