Brazil’s Ministry of Ports and Airports Opens Public Consultation on Insurance Policy for Infrastructure Concessions

The Ministry of Ports and Airports (Ministério de Portos e Aeroportos – MPor) has opened a 30-calendar-day public consultation on a proposed insurance policy for concession contracts and other private-participation modalities in port, airport, and waterway infrastructure. The consultation opened on 24 September 2026 and closes on 23 October 2026. Contributions must be submitted exclusively via the Brasil Participativo platform.

Background

The proposal was prepared by the Working Group on Insurance, Guarantees and Risks in Transport Infrastructure (Grupo de Trabalho sobre Seguros, Garantias e Riscos em Infraestrutura de Transporte – GT-SegInfra), established by MPor in August 2026 with a 100-day mandate. The group comprises representatives of the national secretariats for Ports, Civil Aviation and Waterways, the National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil – ANAC), the National Waterway Transport Agency (Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários – ANTAQ), the private sector and the insurance market.

The initiative follows events such as the 2024 floods at Salgado Filho International Airport (Porto Alegre), which submerged the runway and terminal and interrupted operations for months, exposing gaps in risk coverage for transport-infrastructure concessions.

In the highway sector, Brazil's National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT) has already announced that the sixth-round concession contracts will set out more precise rules on insurable risks, mandatory insurance policies, and minimum coverage amounts. The proposal is included in the draft tender notice, concession agreement, and annexes for Santa Catarina Lots 1 and 3, which were submitted to a public participation process (Public Hearing No. 006/2026, closed on July 8, 2026).

Key Points of the Proposal

Insurability Study within EVTEAs

New Technical, Economic and Environmental Feasibility Studies (Estudos de Viabilidade Técnica, Econômica e Ambiental – EVTEAs) will be required to include an Insurability and Insurance Availability Study (Estudo de Segurabilidade e Disponibilidade de Seguros), assessing, for each material risk, the possibility of obtaining coverage, the conditions offered by the insurance and reinsurance market, and alternatives where insurance is unavailable or insufficient.

Formal Consultation of Susep and the Market

The Private Insurance Superintendency (Superintendência de Seguros Privados – Susep) and the insurance/reinsurance market must be formally consulted, with statements from at least three nationally operating brokers or insurers. Each risk will be classified as insurable, partially insurable or non-insurable.

Pre-Tender Market Consultation

Before publication of tender documents (editais), a market consultation must be conducted to confirm the offer, capacity and contracting conditions for the required coverages.

Three Risk Categories

• Ordinary risks: Foreseeable and recurring – operational management and specific policies where available.
• Residual risks: Uncovered portions (e.g., deductibles, sublimits, exclusions).
• Extraordinary risks: Low frequency and high severity, exceeding proven market capacity.

Alternative Instruments for Extraordinary Risks

The proposal contemplates sharing mechanisms with objective triggers, parametric insurance, automatic economic-financial rebalancing and complementary state participation within the limits of applicable law and contract.

Proof of Unavailability and Temporary Suspension

Unavailability of coverage must be evidenced by negative technical statements from at least three brokers or insurers. The requirement may be temporarily suspended, with re-verification within up to 12 months. There is no automatic transfer of risk to the public authority.

Practical Implications – Why It Matters

The proposal carries significant implications for a range of stakeholders:

• Concessionaires and investors: Clearer and more realistic risk-allocation matrices, with potential improvement in project bankability; possibility of automatic economic-financial rebalancing for extraordinary risks; need to review existing insurance programs.
• Insurers and reinsurers: Formal participation in project structuring from the planning phase; opportunity to contribute to the definition of coverages early on.
• Brokers: Institutionalized role in validating coverage availability and classifying risks.
• Lenders: Greater predictability in risk coverage for financed projects, strengthening the security of project-finance transactions.
• Public authorities: Prohibition on automatic risk transfer to the State; enhanced legal certainty and contract resilience.

How to Participate

Contributions must be identified and substantiated, and submitted exclusively via the electronic form on the Brasil Participativo platform.

Deadline: 23 October 2026

Available documents: draft normative act, Nota Informativa 3/2026/DECON-MPOR/SE-MPOR (Information Note), Relatório de Análise de Impacto Regulatório (AIR) 1/2026/DECON (Regulatory Impact Analysis Report) (available on the Brasil Participativo platform and on MPor’s website.