Energy - Control of Well

Energy Liability

Kinsale’s Energy Division offers Primary Commercial General Liability along with Pollution and Professional Liability offerings for your small to midsize Energy risks. Our underwriting focus is on oil & gas (onshore/offshore), alternative energy, mining, and power exposures.

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Energy – Property

Kinsale’s specialized Energy Property coverage provides protection for ground-up fixed property and mobile equipment across energy-related fields, including traditional oil & gas and alternative energy sectors like solar and wind, power generation, and more.

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Policy Structure:

• Up to $5M total policy limits
• Deductible options ranging from $25,000 to $150,000
• Four coverage components, including:
  • Coverage to get an out-of-control well back under control
  • Costs to restore or re-drill the well
  • Pollution & clean-up costs
  • Third party care, custody, & control (CCC) for on-site equipment

Additional Enhancements Available:

• Underground COW coverage
• Extended re-drill or completion
• Making wells safe
• Wreckage & debris removal
• Turnkey well coverage
• Evacuation expenses

Minimum Premiums:

• $1M limits – $5,000
• $5M limits – $11,000

Submission Requirements:

• Signed & dated applications, including Control of Well supplemental application
• Up-to-date well schedule
• Five-year currently valued company loss runs
• Website information or brochure

• What is Control of Well insurance?

  Control of Well (COW) insurance, also known as Well Control insurance or Operator’s Extra Expense (OEE) coverage, is a highly specialized product designed to protect oil & gas-related businesses from the financial consequences of a well failure. COW can also prevent costly coverage gaps left by standard General Liability and Property exclusions.

  Kinsale’s COW coverages are uniquely designed for the needs of small to midsize lease operators, non-operators, drilling contractors, and well-servicing companies that could be left the most vulnerable during a well control event.

  Our Energy team tailors COW coverage to each risk using creative underwriting that is backed by:

  • Flexible limits
  • Customizable options
  • Premiums as low as $5,000

• What does Kinsale's Control of Well insurance cover?

  Kinsale’s Control of Well policies can provide coverage for:

  • Costs to regain control of the well: e.g., shut‑in, kill operations, snubbing, capping, or plugging
  • Costs to restore or redrill a well that has been damaged
  • Costs of pollution & clean‑up resulting from the event
  • Costs of damage to on‑site, third-party equipment under the policyholder’s care, custody, & control (CCC) during a well control incident

  Our Control of Well coverage can also be tailored to unique risks with optional enhancements, including:

  • Underground COW coverage
  • Extended re-drill or recompletion
  • Making wells safe
  • Wreckage & debris removal
  • Turnkey well coverage
  • Evacuation expenses

• Who needs Control of Well insurance?

  Even a small leak can quickly lead to substantial losses, and liability is often shared among multiple parties. Our Control of Well product is designed for small to midsize operators, non-operators, drilling contractors, and well-servicing companies whose annual revenue could be exceeded by a single event in days, or even hours. While sometimes considered a “nice to have” coverage, we know that Control of Well insurance is a vital safeguard against business-ending loss.

  Control of Well insurance provides protection for:

  • Lease operators who carry primary responsibility for controlling a well and can be held directly liable for expenses related to well failures, redrilling, cleanup, & third-party damages.
  • Non-operators (working interest owners) who, while not primarily responsible, may be liable for additional expenses not covered by an operator’s policy.
  • Drilling contractors, especially those using their own equipment and crews, who could be held liable if a well blowout appears to be due to equipment failure, procedural error, or operational error.
  • Well servicing or workover companies, including wireline, coiled tubing, & other specialty crews, who can be held legally responsible for related costs if something goes wrong during a well intervention or maintenance operation.

• What types of wells does Kinsale's Energy Division consider?

  Our Energy team can consider wells in all 50 states, including:

  • Saltwater disposal wells
  • Geothermal & hydrogen wells
  • Drilled wells only
  • Rating Areas 1, 2, & 2 Wet
  • Wells at all stages: drilled, workover, producing, plugged and abandoned, shut in, & more

• Won't a General Liability policy cover the costs of a well failure?

  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.

• Are there alternatives to Control of Well Insurance?

  Yes—and no. There are other policies that may respond to portions of what Control of Well insurance encompasses, but only Control of Well insurance delivers a specialized, all-in-one solution. For example:

  • Environmental liability or pollution policies may cover spills/leaks, but typically exclude well control, redrill, or loss of control events.
  • Standard General Liability or Property policies often exclude well coverage & create costly gaps. Our Control of Well Quick Guide helps to explain these coverage gaps.
  • Strong risk-management, service-contractor agreements & contingency planning, while essential, don’t replace an insurance program—they complement it.

  With a COW policy in place, operators and contractors can have confidence that whether an event ends up costing $200,000 or $2M, they will be able to recover, remediate, and reinstate operations quickly.  

• I'm working with a smaller account. Can they afford Control of Well insurance?

  Yes! Kinsale’s flexibility and creative underwriting help to ensure premiums that align with an account’s risk profile.

  Most insurers will calculate your account’s required limit, and subsequently its premium, at roughly three times the Authorization for Expenditure (AFE). While this calculation may work for deep or complex operations, it often overestimates the exposure for smaller well schedules. We have flexibility to write below the 3x AFE threshold and tailor coverage to each account.

  Because many claims from small and midsize operators come in under $2 million, we take a more realistic approach with:

  • $5,000 minimum premiums for $1M limits
  • $11,000 minimum premiums for $5M limits
  • Deductible options ranging from $25,000 to $150,000

• What rating areas will Kinsale consider?

  We can consider Area 1, Area 2, and Area 2 Wet, offering options for everything from straightforward drilling environments to more complex settings like coastal water, marshes, or wetlands.

• Is there an age restriction on the wells that Kinsale is willing to cover?

  No. Kinsale does not have age restrictions on the wells we will consider.