Four months after strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz triggered mass cancellation notices from the International Group of P&I Clubs, private market capacity is beginning to return. Lloyd's of London and Chubb have launched a marine war risk consortium offering up to $200 million of primary capacity separately for hull and P&I risks, plus a further $200 million in dedicated cargo capacity, with Chubb acting as lead underwriter backed by participating Lloyd's syndicates and specialist market partners.

The launch arrives alongside - rather than instead of - significant government intervention. The US International Development Finance Corporation launched its own Maritime Reinsurance Plan at $20 billion on 20 March, with Chubb again as lead underwriter, then expanded it to $40 billion two weeks later when Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Berkshire Hathaway, AIG, Starr and CNA joined as reinsurance partners. Chubb's simultaneous role anchoring both the government backstop and the new private consortium is a notable illustration of how the Hormuz capacity gap has been addressed through parallel rather than competing mechanisms.

A market still under pressure

The consortium does not signal a return to pre-crisis conditions. Dylan Mortimer, hull war lead at broker Marsh, said ratings on offer still range broadly between 0.8% and 1.5% of vessel value depending on specific risk factors, with Hormuz transits remaining the hardest exposure to price given proximity to Iran. Calvin Gray, global head of marine at Intact Insurance, said capacity "remains available, but it will be deployed selectively, based on real-time assessments of risk rather than political announcements."

The strait carries roughly a fifth of global oil supply and a significant share of seaborne LNG, and the insurance disruption has fed directly into energy flows. ADNOC Gas has made temporary adjustments to its LNG production and export-traded liquids, working with customers on a shipment-by-shipment basis as shipping constraints persist. Qatar, the corridor's largest LNG exporter, shipped more than 112 billion cubic metres in 2025, with almost 90% of Hormuz-transiting volumes bound for Asian buyers.

Patrick Tiernan, chief executive of Lloyd's, described the launch as an example of the market bringing together specialist underwriting expertise, claims capability and global capacity to support marine supply chain resilience. Evan Greenberg, chief executive of Chubb, said the consortium would give brokers and clients a straightforward solution while demonstrating the industry's role in supporting global commerce.

The consortium will be available to brokers and clients from June 19, 2026, subject to underwriting criteria, sanctions screening and regulatory requirements. That the private market is now willing to write primary Hormuz war risk at scale - rather than leaving the field to government-backed capacity - is the more significant signal the launch sends about where market confidence currently stands.