The insurers named in a newspaper last week as being involved with the Adani coal mine have ruled out providing insurance for the next phases of the controversial project in Queensland.

Liberty Specialty Markets, HDI Global and XL Australia, which is part of the Axa Group, were identified in a Sydney Morning Herald article as the insurers for the construction of the mine and its rail line.

The newspaper says its article is based on invoices leaked by an unidentified employee from broker Marsh, which was also named as the broker that arranged the insurance program for the coal mine.

The invoices - which have not been seen by insuranceNEWS.com.au - reportedly show the three insurers charged the mine’s owner, Indian conglomerate Adani Group, for insurance coverage last year. Reinsurer Aspen Re also provided some cover, the article says.

Liberty says the article refers to a policy that expired last year, Axa says it has no live insurance for the mine, and both ruled out future involvement. HDI told insuranceNEWS.com.au it has no direct connection with the project.

HDI, part of the German-based Talanx Group, says it is “not an insurer” of the project. However, the business says it “cannot rule out that one or more of our Australian customers who are insured by us are among the contractors of this project”.

HDI says these customers could have acquired policies to cover areas such as liability, cyber, or contract works.

“It is part of our fundamental business principles not to grant any direct insurance cover to projects like the Adani Carmichael coal mine,” a statement from the insurer said.

“For many years, we have supported the goals set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change where governments of 195 nations reached agreement on a global action plan for a low-carbon economy with a view to combating climate change.”

A spokesman for US-owned Liberty Specialty Markets says it had a policy to cover the mine’s early construction works, but the cover expired in October last year.

However, it is contractually obligated to a 24-month maintenance period for any defects that may arise in that specific construction following the conclusion of the period of insurance.

The spokesman says the policy was issued before the insurer informed the appropriate parties that it would not be participating in the insurance program for the operational phase of the project.

“Prior to that announcement, we had in force a small piece of the insurance program for early-works site construction. That policy expired in October 2019,” the spokesman said.

Axa XL says it does not currently have a live insurance policy for the Carmichael mine’s assets, either directly or through packages, and does not intend to do so in the future.

Marsh told insuranceNEWS.com.au it does not wish to comment on the article.