Willis has launched a dedicated carbon capture and storage (CCS) insurance solution aimed at developers, operators and investors across the CO₂ capture, transport and storage chain.
The integrated suite adapts upstream energy, marine, liability and environmental covers to CCS‑specific risks and is positioned as “bankability‑enabling” protection aligned with regulatory requirements and carbon credit regimes.
The solution is designed to run across the full project lifecycle, from front‑end engineering design (FEED) through construction, commissioning and long‑term operations. In addition to insurance placement, Willis will provide FEED‑phase risk engineering support, best‑practice knowledge sharing, contractual risk allocation advice, and lender and regulatory support.
Key features include end‑to‑end coverage across the CCS value chain; property damage, business interruption and value‑chain downtime protection; risk transfer for first‑of‑a‑kind technologies; third‑party liability cover for plume migration, terminal operations and off‑spec CO₂; leakage response and remediation funding; and protection against non‑delivery penalties and obligations under carbon credit and offtake arrangements.
Marie Reiter, head of global broking strategy, natural resources at Willis, said CCS projects face novel technical risks, complex contractual structures and rapidly evolving regulation, making effective risk management central to securing financing and long‑term resilience.
The launch comes as CCS and CCUS projects move beyond pilots towards larger‑scale deployment, albeit from a relatively low base. Recent data from the Global CCS Institute indicate that total capture capacity from operating and planned facilities has risen to around 500 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, with planned capacity growing at more than 30% annually since 2017. Operational projects increased sharply in 2025, despite higher capital costs and geopolitical uncertainty.
At the same time, the International Energy Agency has flagged risk allocation and insurability as key constraints on scaling CCS. Its 2026 “Financing CCUS at Scale” report points to cross‑chain risks in hub‑based models, long‑duration storage liabilities and underdeveloped insurance solutions as continuing hurdles for private capital.
For insurers, CCS concentrates a mix of familiar and emerging exposures: construction and operational risks, marine transit for CO₂, long‑tail environmental liability and performance risk on relatively immature capture and storage technologies.
Willis and other market participants have previously highlighted coverage gaps around long‑term leakage, alignment with regulatory obligations to monitor and remediate storage sites for decades, and the interaction between CCS liabilities and incentives such as the US 45Q tax credit.
Some policymakers are also exploring whether mandatory financial security, including insurance or other guarantees, should be required for leakage and post‑closure obligations. That could formalise insurers’ role in CCS risk‑sharing and create new demand for capacity.
The CCS solution sits within a broader push by Willis to build out sector‑specific capabilities in transition and infrastructure risks.
Earlier this year, the broker set up a global digital infrastructure unit focused on data centre risks and expanded its Willis Research Network partnership with Cornell University to study clustered catastrophe events. The CCS offering follows the same model of combining engineering support, analytics and integrated placements rather than purely transactional broking.
That approach is likely to appeal to lenders and developers in newer asset classes where demonstrating robust risk management is a condition for securing project finance.
