TC Energy clear to keep insurers secret from pipeline activists

Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News

TC Energy Corp. is the latest Canadian pipeline company allowed to keep its insurers confidential as activist groups push firms to drop business with the fossil fuels industry.  

The Canada Energy Regulator ruled that the names of TC Energy’s insurers are “commercial information” and the midstream company has met the requirement of “consistently treating” this information as confidential, according to a ruling on the agency’s website. 

Pressure from environmental groups has prompted some major insurance companies to halt support for energy projects. Zurich Insurance Group AG last year dropped its coverage of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries crude from the Canadian oil sands to the country’s Pacific Coast. In April, the pipeline’s operator received permission for insurer secrecy. 

TC Energy requested permission to keep insurers confidential in May as part of its annual reporting requirements for its gas pipeline network. The company didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.