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WHAT is Control of Well Insurance?

Control of Well (COW) coverage, also known as Well Control or Operators Extra Expense (OEE) insurance, covers costs associated with a well failure, including:

• Regaining control of a well
• Redrilling if the well is damaged beyond use
• Cleanup & pollution mitigation

• Damaged property including equipment in your care, custody, or control (CCC)
• Gaps not covered by General Liability or Property policies

WHO Needs Control of Well coverage?

Well-failure expenses like redrilling, cleanup, & third-party damages

Additional expenses not covered by an operator’s policy

Cost of equipment, procedural, or operational errors (especially when using their own crews)

Related costs of failures during a well intervention or maintenance operation

WHY is Control of Well insurance important?

COW is a critical part of a well-rounded risk management strategy, particularly for small to midsize organizations. Accidents happen and whether it’s a standard incident, a regulatory compliance hit, or a worst-case disaster, COW protects operations and finances. To understand the essential importance of COW, however, you must first understand the truth behind common misconceptions:

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Failures aren’t common for producing wells.

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FACT: Recent reports from a leading U.S. well control provider show that since 2022, their projects have shifted dramatically from drilling incidents to workover, producing, or Plug & Abandonment wells. Additionally, IOGP’s (International Association of Oil & Gas Producers) Review of Well Control Incidents (Report 637R) shows that human factors contribute to 71% of well control failures, including many that occur during maintenance & other production-related activities.

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My GL policy will cover costs of a well failure.

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FACT: Control of Well coverage is a very specific type of coverage designed exclusively to protect oil & gas-related businesses from well-failure expenses. Standard GL and property policies often outright exclude well coverage, creating an insurance gap and extensive out-of-pockets costs.

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If it’s not a major blowout, it won’t be that costly.

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FACT: It’s true billion-dollar events like Deepwater Horizon don’t happen every day, but a multi-million-dollar claim may feel the
same to a small operator. Just remember, the costs associated with even small failures or leaks can add up quickly.

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With coverage priced at three times the Authorization For Expenditure (AFE), I can’t afford the premium.

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FACT: Unlike many other carriers, we can structure our COW policy premiums to meet the needs of small to midsize businesses. Because many claims from smaller operators come in at around $2M, we write below the 3x AFE threshold, delivering essential coverage at a fair premium.

HOW can Kinsale help?

At Kinsale, our Energy team has the flexibility to customize limits and coverages to match individual risk characteristics. In addition to standard coverage for regaining control of a well, redrilling, cleanup, and CCC for onsite equipment, we provide optional enhancements, including:

• Underground COW coverage
• Extended re-drill or recompletion
• Making wells safe

• Wreckage & debris removal
• Turnkey well coverage
• Evacuation expenses