Insurance Jottings
Lloyd’s sets out vision for return to One Lime Street
Lloyd’s is aiming to have “signalling” capabilities available for the full reopening of One Lime Street in June which will enable market participants to let others know when they plan to be in the underwriting room.
How US Plans to Protect Power Grid From Foreign Hackers
The White House unveiled on the 20th April a 100-day plan intended to protect the US power grid from cyber-attacks, mainly by creating a stronger relationship between US national security agencies and the mostly private utilities who run the electrical system.
The plan is among the first big steps toward fulfilling the Biden administration’s promise to urgently improve the country’s cyber defences. The nation’s power system is both highly vulnerable to hacking and a target for nation-state adversaries looking to counter the US advantage in conventional military and economic power.
Although the plan is billed as a 100-day sprint — which includes a series of consultations between utilities and the government — it will likely take years to fully implement, experts say. It will ask utilities to pay for and install technology to better detect hacks of the specialised computers which run the country’s power systems, known as industrial control systems.
The Edison Electric Institute, the trade group which represents all US investor-owned electric companies, praised the White House plan and the Biden administration’s focus on cybersecurity.
“Given the sophisticated and constantly changing threats posed by adversaries, America’s electric companies remain focused on securing the industrial control systems that operate the North American energy grid,” said EEI president Tom Kuhn.
While an early draft had proposed helping small utilities and rural co-ops pay for the new monitoring, the final version is more vague about whether the money will come from the federal government or be passed to customers in the form of higher utility bills.
Large utilities often have sophisticated security teams and pay for cutting edge monitoring technology, but it’s unclear how enthusiastically smaller utilities will take on the cost of additional security.
The government will take suggestions from utilities within 21 days about ways to incentivise participation in the voluntary effort, according to details of the plan described by a person familiar with it.
The final plan also drops the draft’s proposal for enhancing supply chain security for grid components by calling for a list of recommended equipment vendors. Now, the administration plans to ask utilities for suggestions for improvement.
Experts say initiatives to enhance the security of the US electrical grid are years behind better-known efforts to shield data centres and corporate systems. At the same time, hackers from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are launching increasingly aggressive attacks on US power companies, hoping to install malware that could leave cities and towns in the dark.
Under the new plan, owners and operators of electricity networks are now expected to “enhance their detection, mitigation and forensic capabilities,” according to the Department of Energy statement. They would also need to share information with the federal government if something happens to their systems. Priority sites will need to identify and report their technology capabilities, gaps and requirements within 45 days of the launch.
CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, will establish a team of government and agency representatives to coordinate analysis between the government and private sector.
“The safety and security of the American people depend on the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure,” said acting CISA director Brandon Wales, in a statement. The partnership would “prove a valuable pilot as we continue our work to secure industrial control systems across all sectors.”
7 European Countries Commit to Halt Export Finance for Fossil Fuel Projects
Seven European countries, including Germany, France and Britain, will commit to stop public export guarantees for fossil fuel projects, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on the 12th April.
Coal, oil and gas infrastructure have traditionally made up a large share of the portfolios of many countries’ public export finance agencies, which support exports through state-backed financing guarantees and insurance against losses abroad.
Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden are the other four countries to back the initiative.
Britain, France and Sweden have already laid out plans to halt export guarantees for the fossil fuel sector while the other countries in the group have yet to decide how fast they will phase out their support.
“We are totally determined to stop all export guarantees financing fossil fuels while taking into account each country’s industrial specifics and the impact on jobs,” Mr Le Maire said.
Speaking before a meeting on the 14th April where the pledge was formalised, Mr Le Maire added that he hoped President Joe Biden’s administration would join the group, which together accounts for 40% of export finance among OECD countries, following an upcoming review of US export finance.
Mr Le Maire also said the seven countries would commit to supporting climate-friendly projects and transparency in their export finance policies.
New Zealand Becomes First Country to Introduce Climate Change Law for Insurers, Banks
New Zealand has become the first country to introduce a law which will require banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their business, minister for climate change James Shaw said on the 13th April.
All banks with total assets of more than NZ$1 billion (US$703 million), insurers with more than NZ$1 billion in total assets under management, and all equity and debt issuers listed on the country’s stock exchange will have to make disclosures.
“We simply cannot get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 unless the financial sector knows what impact their investments are having on the climate,” Mr Shaw said in a statement.
“This law will bring climate risks and resilience into the heart of financial and business decision making.”
The bill, which has been introduced to the country’s parliament and is expected to receive its first reading this week, requires financial firms to explain how they would manage climate-related risks and opportunities.
Around 200 of the country’s biggest companies and several foreign firms that meet the NZ$1 billion threshold will come under the legislation.
Disclosures will be required for financial years beginning next year once the law is passed, meaning that the first reports will be made by companies in 2023.
The New Zealand government said last September it would make the financial sector report
on climate risks and those unable to disclose would have to explain their reasons.
The New Zealand government has introduced several policies to lower emissions during its second term including promising to make its public sector carbon-neutral by 2025 and buy only zero-emissions public transport buses from the middle of this decade.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who returned to power last October delivering the biggest election victory for her centre-left Labour Party in half a century, had called climate change the “nuclear free moment of our generation.”