Munich Re won't extend Nord Stream 1 coverage when it expires this year

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Munich Re will not proactively extend coverage for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline when it expires later this year, a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

The decision follows an announcement by Allianz on Wednesday that it does not intend to renew the policy.

Munich Re did not elaborate.

In its earlier statement, Allianz said it was part of an insurance consortium that provided coverage for the pipeline's four European-based minority shareholders.

Sources told Reuters that Allianz and Munich Re were among the European insurers that had previously renewed coverage for the damaged Russian-controlled Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which extend from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Friederike Heine, Kirsti Knolle)