MIHAMA, Japan--An Aug. 9 accident at a Japanese nuclear plant that killed four people likely won't trigger major claims under the plant's nuclear liability coverage, market sources said.
The Mihama Nuclear Power Station's reactor and turbines were tripped Monday, stopping reactor activity, after water flowing into a steam generator leaked from a burst pipe, according to a statement by Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., which owns the plant in Mihama, Japan.
According to Kansai, no radioactive material was released in the accident, but the plant's turbine building filled with super-heated steam, killing four people and injuring seven.
Nuclear liability coverage for the plant is written in the London market, including at Lloyd's of London, where it is led by syndicate 1176, confirmed Michael Dawson, the syndicate's active underwriter. Syndicate 1176 is managed by Chaucer Syndicates Ltd.
The policy covers damage caused by nuclear radiation, as well as the nuclear and nonnuclear assets of the plant, he said.
The workers killed in the accident, who were contractors, would be included in the policy's coverage, said Mark Tetley, managing director of Nuclear Risk Insurers Ltd., which issued the policy.
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