Thermal coal insurance rates rose more than 20% last year, it said, above the 7.3% rise in the benchmark Marsh Global Insurance Market Index. Insurance companies can be active in both primary insurance and reinsurance and have differing commitments on ESG for different parts of their business. "Establishing a mutual fund for the coal industry is a matter for the coal industry," a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Treasury said. "I'm talking about going beyond your normal UK-based markets and looking into Asia for funders and insurance cover," she added. Coal prices hit record highs in September last year as European countries scrambled to replace Russian gas, sending coal miners' profits soaring.

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Persons: Philip Mostert, Seriti, Doug Gain, Gain, Ben Davis, Willis Towers Watson, Thungela, China's, Russia's, Switzerland's Chubb, Chubb, Russia's SOGAZ, Peter Bosshard, Nombasa Tsengwa, Tsengwa, Exxaro, Clara Denina, Sarah McFarlane, Nelson Banya, Elaine Hardcastle, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Seriti, Thungela Resources, International Energy Agency, Reuters, Marsh Global Insurance, Whitehaven Coal, Whitehaven, Allianz, Swiss, Germany's Allianz, Insuramore, Australian Department of Treasury, South, Thomson Locations: American, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, South, Ukraine, Whitehaven, Munich, Australia, Asia, Europe