Farmer clients of general insurance giant IAG better make sure their properties don’t have coal seam gas (CSG) infrastructure if they wish to be covered against public liability when they renew their insurance policies.
The publication cited IAG as saying that it will be unable to include liability protection in the insurance policies of customers who have operational CSG or shale gas activities or infrastructure on their properties – essentially drawing the line between agriculture and unconventional gas.
The Lock the Gate Alliance, which describes CSG mining as a risky and invasive form of unconventional gas mining, is of the view that government intervention and legislation reform are necessary to push mining and gas firms to be the ones to take out insurance coverage.
“The farmer shouldn’t have to run around and look for insurance products,” ABC News quoted Lock the Gate campaigner Rick Humphries as stating.
“But the way that the system has worked is that the government has knowingly allowed the gas industry to enter into contracts with farmers that expose farmers to a whole range of business and natural resource risks around water and land contamination.”
