Russian court denies compensation claim for attack on oil depot near Anapa

The Rostov Court of Appeals has overturned a ruling ordering the insurance company VSK to pay 135 million rubles in damages for a fire at an oil depot caused by a drone strike in May 2024. 

This was reported by Astra.

The judges agreed with the insurers’ position, since a state of war had not been officially declared in Russia, and no military operations were taking place in the Krasnodar Krai. Court documents indicate that the court classified the incident as a terrorist attack, which falls under the exclusions of property insurance policies.

Unmanned aerial vehicles attacked two oil depots in the village of Yurovka near Anapa on the night of May 9, 2024, causing three fuel oil tanks to catch fire and a fuel leak to occur. The affected company sought compensation, but VSK initially refused to pay, citing damage caused by hostilities, which was not covered by the existing policy. The Krasnodar Krai Arbitration Court initially upheld the company’s claim, but the appellate court completely overturned that decision.

The judges emphasized that damages from the fire are considered an insured event, but if it resulted from a terrorist attack, the relevant exclusion clause regarding refusal to pay applies. Against the backdrop of regular drone strikes on infrastructure facilities, nearly all insurance companies have excluded risks of damage from UAVs and shelling from standard coverage packages since 2022. At the same time, demand for separate insurance against the risks of terrorist acts among business representatives has shown a sharp increase.