Munich Re to insure Gulf oil

Munich Re is to increase the amount of insurance it sells to oil-rig operators in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, because premiums are rising there, not falling, Bloomberg reports.

It will insure as much as $20bn liability cover.

Lloyd’s chief executive officer Richard Ward says insurance premiums for offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico could rise 30%. The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers says premiums in other classes of insurance have fallen to their lowest in 10 years.