Germany's Allianz does not intend to renew Nord Stream 1 policy

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -German insurance company Allianz said on Wednesday it does not intend to renew a policy for the Nord Stream 1 project when it expires in late 2023.

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

"The policy will expire in late 2023, is not currently up for renewal, and Allianz does not intend to renew this policy," it said in a statement on its website.

"This policy was underwritten prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for a two-year period and we are under contractual obligation to our policyholders subject to all sanctions."

Allianz added that contractual details were confidential matters between the company and its customers and could not disclose any further details.

Sources told Reuters that Allianz and Munich Re, another German company, were among the European insurers that had 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 and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Jan Harvey and Paul Simao)