I belive the Title says it all. Fortunately, all this will do is protect Nationwide from frivolous lawsuits. Even if there was damage from fracking, any coverage would be provided by the party who caused the problem. This is meaningless hype.
Insurer Won’t Cover Hydraulic Fracturing Exposure
“ALBANY, N.Y. — Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has become the first major insurance company to say it won’t cover damage related to a gas drilling process that blasts chemical-laden water deep into the ground.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company’s personal and commercial policies “were not designed to cover” risk from the drilling process, called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Nationwide spokeswoman Nancy Smeltzer said Thursday.
The process injects chemically treated water into wells to fracture shale thousands of feet underground and release trapped gas or oil. There are rich shale deposits in parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere.
Health and environmental groups claim fracking can contaminate drinking water. The gas industry says it’s safe if done properly. Nationwide said risks involved in fracking operations “are too great to ignore” and apply to policies of commercial contractors and landowners who lease property to gas companies.”
There is no case anywhere , in any records base, of fracking damaging any subsurface water source.
Ipso facto, there is nothing to base rates on.
Even if there was, then it would be a liability case. Nationwide doesn’t sell insurance to drilling companies. As I said in the intro, this doesn’t really do anything aside from make a political statement.