Transport Ministry proposes to require foreign marine insurers to confirm possibility of payouts in Russia

MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - Russia's Transport Ministry has drafted proposals to introduce a legislative provision requiring foreign insurance companies to confirm the possibility of making payouts in the Russian financial system, the ministry said in a press release.

"Most Russian seaborne foreign trade cargo is currently shipped by vessels under foreign flags. Foreign insurers, for their part, do not have the actual ability to make payouts to injured parties in the Russian financial system in the event of the occurrence of an insured event," the ministry said.

Marine transport carried 78% of Russian foreign trade cargo in the first 10 months of 2025, including 82% of exports, and in the Russian Arctic the share of foreign trade cargo shipped by sea is nearly 100%, the ministry said.

After traditional partners from among insurers and reinsurers of "unfriendly" countries terminated relations in 2022, working with foreign insurers has become far more complicated, as has reinsuring major risks, including in the area of transport and cargo shipments.

A marine insurance expert Interfax spoke with voiced concerns that the proposed new requirement could be seen as excessive pressure by foreign insurers of countries that are friendly to Russia, and make it harder to work with them in future.

"Foreign insurers have to pay compensation to the foreign recipient of the cargo or third parties on shipowner liability risks, not to the Russian side," the expert said, adding that "it is important to treat the preservation of existing mechanisms of insurance protection with care."