Lloyd’s of London-led AEGIS Consortium Launches $25M Mine Rescue Insurance Cover

Lloyd’s only insurance market cover for rescuing miners trapped underground has doubled its available cover from $10 million to $25 million with the launch of a new consortium led by AEGIS London.

The AEGIS Miner Rescue Consortium primarily targets hard rock and precious metal mines, both open-pit and underground, with a focus on Australia, Canada, South Africa and Latin America. The consortium includes insurers Brit, IQUW, Hampden and Abbot.

“The best way to understand how this product works is to put yourself in the shoes of a CFO or risk manager of a mining company during an accident,” commented Dan Rouse, International Casualty Underwriter, AEGIS London .

“Stakeholders will be looking for information and updates; the families of those caught will need to be comforted and informed, and the financial market and the world at large will also need to be managed,” Rouse said. “Our miner rescue policy supports all of these communications to allow risk managers and management teams to focus on saving the lives of their employees and any third-party contractors trapped underground.”

This product will make a real difference to mines and miners around the world, according to Matthew Yeldham, chief underwriting officer at AEGIS London.

The consortium is supported by a leading international expert, Integra Technical Services (Integra), with its claim notification portal Tellintegra and IRIS, a remote visual inspection tool that uses mobile phones to send live images of the situation to insurance experts and salvage.

“With lives at stake, time is of the essence. Both Tellintegra, our complaint notification portal, and IRIS, which simultaneously provides multiple stakeholders with real-time visibility into the situation while storing footage on a secure portal, help facilitate early decision-making on the appropriate course of action of action and its financing.” according to Paul Latimer, Managing Director of Risk Services at Integra.

The consortium’s insurance coverage not only pays for the recovery operation, including equipment rental, rescue experts, first aid and transportation, but also provides public relations support to help protect the mining company’s reputation.

A podcast from AEGIS London explaining how miners’ rescue insurance is supporting the rescue operation is available here.

Additionally, a short video is available on the AEGIS London miner rescue insurance portal.

AEGIS London operates Lloyd’s Syndicate 1225, which comprises the UK subsidiaries of AEGIS (Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Ltd.), a mutual insurance company serving the needs of the North American energy industry. Since its origins in 1999, AEGIS London has grown into a leading diversified Lloyd’s syndicate, leading and participating in a wide range of business classes with a talented team of over 230 people.

Source: AEGIS London

Photo: Gold miners work at the South Deep gold mine, south of Johannesburg, on February 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

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Excess Surplus New Markets Lloyd’s London