News

The Nuclear Risk Insurers (NRI) has appointed Michele Chiamenti, as Underwriting Manager, responsible for overseeing the Underwriting team for assessing risk, and working closely with our Engineering and Finance teams. 

Michele joins NRI with over 20 years of experience in Insurance, with his most recent position held at Brit Syndicates in London, as a Class Underwriter in Nuclear & Space, responsible for underwriting space insurance policies on behalf of several Lloyd’s Syndicates. Michele’s experience also lies in engineering and business, as he holds two master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and an MBA in business from MIP Politecnico di Milano Business School.

We’re looking forward to welcoming Michele’s entrepreneurial attitude and innovative vision for supporting our existing clients and scaling underwriting opportunities for the business.

Nuclear Risk Insurers (NRI) features in a new London Market Group report, ‘No Insurance, No Sustainable Future: How Insurance Unlocks the Growth of Green Projects’, which highlights the role of insurance in safeguarding innovative green projects across sectors, such as international property and clean energy. 

With the London Market being ‘a global epicentre for insurance’, we are proud to be featured in this report with a case study, regarding the development of nuclear power plants and covering the entire life cycle of projects. It is critical that nuclear is positioned as a source of clean energy, which is demonstrated in this report and reinforces our role in supporting a net-zero future. 

Learn more about our pivotal role in fostering nuclear growth globally, for a case study for ‘Long term help’ included in this report.  

Nuclear energy has been thrust into the spotlight recently, as more countries and companies transition to net zero technologies. The growing demand for nuclear capacity and what that means for nuclear risk insurance has been a focal point of this year’s annual review.  From SMR/AMR technology updates, to solving the 30-years liability conundrum and NRI’s vision for the future, the 2023 Annual Review utilises the wide range of expertise within the nuclear insurance pool community.

It also features interviews and contributions from key stakeholders and experts in the global nuclear industry, such as Simon Bowen, Great British Nuclear (GBN) and Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association (WNA).

The 2023 Annual Review also highlights the upcoming insight offered by our biannual webinar series, Frontiers by NRI, a breakdown of some of the most pressing issues facing our industry.

Read the annual review here.

This festive period our colleague, Rebecca Milton, will once again be raising awareness for The Royal Marsden cancer charity, as part of their Celebrate a Life campaign. It’s a campaign and charity close to Rebecca’s heart, having tragically lost her partner in April 2019.  

Rebecca’s partner, Simon, was diagnosed with Sarcoma in 2018. Initially it seemed he might not survive 24 hours, given the severity of the tumour. Heartbreakingly, the diagnosis came at the same time Rebecca discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Rebecca remembers the vital efforts of The Royal Marsden team to help prolong Simon’s life. In a blog post for the cancer charity, she said; “The teams at the hospital then did something amazing. The radiography team bought down an ultrasound machine to Simon’s room so we could have a scan and he could see our baby before Simon passed away.  Miraculously after this, Simon fought through and turned a corner.” 

Simon continued to fight against his illness, and thanks to excellent care was able to meet his son Dexter.  Father and son spent three precious months together before Simon tragically passed.  For the past three years Rebecca has paid tribute to Simon and the amazing team at The Royal Marsden by taking part in their Celebrate a Life campaign. Every year they dedicate a Christmas tree star in memory of Simon, a beloved partner and proud dad. Rebecca said; “It’s lovely to have something at Christmas time for Dexter to focus on his dad and to know we are supporting The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. He really likes being able to still talk about his Daddy – even though it’s in a different way to how his friends can talk about theirs.” 

The Celebrate a Life initiative enables people to mark this time of the year with a moment to reflect and celebrate the lives of those they love. By naming a star, adding a message and making a donation, people can have a vital impact on the lives of cancer patients and their families.  

To make a donation please click here.

Rebecca Milton joined NRI in 2020 as an underwriter and has been a valued member of the team ever since. To read more about her journey and her continued work with The Royal Marsden team please read here.

Nuclear Risk Insurer’s chairman, Dr Tim Stone CBE, has written an insightful opinion piece for The Telegraph, entitled “Why Britain does not have a nuclear fleet to rival France” in relation to the current energy security crises taking place all over Europe. 

“Today, we have a system prone to excess: one that relies on too much imported gas that inflicts ruinous prices on suppliers and catastrophic bills on households. The excess is also one of imbalance: we have tried to decarbonise by bringing on much more variable renewable power without expanding the complement of baseload nuclear to provide stability.” 

Dr Stone also explains the nuclear roots of British energy and why nuclear remains a reliable source for low-carbon energy during this critical moment when Britain is seeking to control its energy future.

Finally, Dr Stone wraps up his editorial pondering one momentous question for the UK and the industry: “But if we are not today a great nuclear nation, should we be?” 

Read on to find out more. You can access the full Telegraph article via the link, by signing up to a free trial or with a paid subscription: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/09/27/britain-should-have-nuclear-reactor-fleet-rival-france/

Nuclear Risk Insurers (NRI), the lead reinsuring pool to the Ukraine Nuclear Insurance Pool (UNIP), renewed the nuclear third-party liability policy for Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear power operator, on 29 July 2022.

The cover renewed is for three of the Energoatom nuclear power plant (NPP) sites at Rivne, Khmelnytska and Yuzhnoukrainsk, which are all within the direct control and oversight of nuclear safety operators.

Since 24 February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, UNIP has continued to provide nuclear liability cover to Energoatom with the support of NRI and the nuclear insurance pools. This includes an extension of the original policy that incepted on 29 April 2021 for a period of three months.

Key to providing this cover and the renewal has been UNIP and NRI’s close collaboration with Energoatom and the continuous monitoring of the sites, to assure our members that the “controlling mind” remains with Energoatom and that there has been no “material change in risk”. 

Additionally, UNIP, at NRI’s request, negotiated a more clearly defined war exclusion in the policy. The Vienna Convention 1963 (VC63), which determines the strict liability on Energoatom in Ukraine, allows for a war exclusion but that is the only exception, with all other triggers for an offsite release of ionising radiation being covered by the strict liability and channelling of liability and compensation to victims to Energoatom. 

The criteria above were used to conclude that the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia NPPs were no longer capable of being insured and, as a result, they have now become subject to a Ukrainian government indemnity in the absence of an insurance or alternative finance solution for their liability.

NRI’s engineers worked closely with UNIP’s engineer to develop the criteria that sit behind the two main concerns noted above, and these criteria continue to be in force under the renewed insurance cover.

UNIP and NRI have in turn been supported by the international nuclear insurance pooling community which has provided the supporting reinsurance capacity to the UNIP programme, in addition to NRI.  

As part of the renewal, UNIP has been in constant dialogue with Energoatom and the Ukrainian government. With a shortfall of nuclear insurance pools capacity, UNIP has successfully negotiated a government indemnity that sits alongside the nuclear insurance pools, which in turn helps provide the full SDR150m (circa USD200m) required by the national law and the VC63.

Mark Popplewell, Managing Director of NRI, said: “It is humbling to have seen how our colleagues in Ukraine have continued to work so professionally under such extreme circumstances, and to have also been supported by our Lloyd’s of London and insurance market members, who have backed our decisions to stay on risk and have shown continued faith in our engineering and underwriting expertise.

We are also grateful for the support we have received from the reinsurance pools who have collaborated with NRI on the technical challenges encountered. It is a true demonstration of the solidarity the international nuclear insurance pooling system has with UNIP and with Ukraine during their time of need.”

Dimitry Rasshyvalov, Managing Director of the UNIP, said: “The contract with Energоatom has been successfully renewed through cooperation with the international nuclear insurance pooling system. We appreciate the support of our colleagues from NRI, the leader of UNIP’s reinsurance programme.”

On 14 July, NRI hosted the Radiate Nuclear Network’s first face-to-face event since pre-Covid, in which Network members were left enriched by Burges Salmon partner Ian Truman, one of the country’s top nuclear law experts, who delivered a presentation on the Revised Paris Convention 2004 and its implementation and application, both in the United Kingdom and across the world. The session was extremely thought-provoking and left members with a range of questions on various elements of the presentation, which Ian gladly answered. Following the presentation, Network members were afforded plenty of time to socialise and network with one another in the event space.

The Radiate Nuclear Network was formed in February 2020 by NRI with the goal of providing educational and social events to a membership made up of nuclear industry professionals in the UK, allowing them to learn and network with one another with a specific focus on insurance. Opening up and demystifying the world of nuclear insurance is something both Radiate and NRI are passionate about doing, and if that helps showcase nuclear’s role in our energy future and as part of the drive to net zero, both nationally and internationally, that is great too.

The Committee which manages the Network is chaired by Joe Turnpenny of NRI and includes NRI underwriters Claudio Mares, Rebecca Milton and Chris Rees, as well as Price Forbes’ Louise Webber and AXA XL’s Andrea Ciraci. Joe said of the event: 

“It was a delight to see so many people turn out for our first in-person event since February 2020, after so long seeing our members sat behind computer screens in the fully remote-working age. Ian’s presentation was fantastic and gave our members a great insight into the Revised Paris Convention and its global implementation, stimulating some excellent questions and discussions from our member underwriters, brokers and engineers alike.

On behalf of the Radiate Committee and wider Network, I’d like to thank NRI for its continuous support of our mission and for hosting this excellent event. Also, my thanks to Burges Salmon and Ian Truman for their support in presenting at this event – we have had nothing but positive feedback from attendees for the session content and the discussion it stimulated.”

The Radiate Committee has big plans for the rest of 2022, including a much-anticipated in-person site visit event at Sizewell B Nuclear Power Plant, and it looks forward to delivering further success stories in the near future.

On the weekend of 9 and 10 July, Joe, who works in our Underwriting team, and two of his good friends competed in the inaugural Snowdon24 endurance trail race, a 24-hour ultramarathon, representing Team Summit Mentality in their maiden competitive endurance event.

The three runners managed to summit Yr Wyddfa nine times as a team within the 24-hour window, placing first in the teams-of-three category and sixth overall out of 186 competitors, all whilst raising over £3,000 for their chosen charities, Prostate Cancer UK and Sport in Mind.

Reflecting on the experience, Joe said: “I learnt so much about my body and mind over the 24-hour period, which included a solo summit of England & Wales’ highest peak in total darkness at midnight on the Sunday – by far the toughest challenge I have ever undertaken! Running such a distance on virtually no sleep in near-total darkness has a way of forcing you to enter the darkest depths of your mind and I feel so much stronger now, having completed the challenge.

A huge thanks to our behind-the-scenes race team and documentary makers for all their hard work in realising my, and my friends’, crazy dream – we couldn’t have done it without you, and we can’t wait to see how the documentary turns out.

So excited to see what the future holds for Summit Mentality – watch this space!”

The team plan to take on popular Danish staged trail marathon Etapeløb Thy Trail Race in November of this year.