The maritime insurance program from Washington for the Strait of Hormuz, which received a lot of attention, seems to have made little progress.

This week, comments from Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg indicated that the much-hyped $40 billion maritime reinsurance facility by the Trump administration has not been delayed due to a lack of underwriting capacity, but because the main military escort concept hasn't been realized yet.

During Chubb's earnings call on April 22, Greenberg explained that the federally backed program was not intended to be a standalone insurance product. Instead, it is part of a U.S.-led convoy system aimed at facilitating safe transits through the Gulf. Chubb was chosen to be the leading insurance partner for this initiative.

“The government wanted to support shipping through the Gulf with military convoys,” Greenberg noted. “That has yet to occur.”

These comments provide a clearer reason for the limited progress of a program that was described in March as a significant step to improve commercial traffic in this important area.

When the plan was first introduced, U.S. officials presented it as more than just a financial safety net; they described it as a strategic move to reopen one of the world's essential energy routes.

At the announcement made with the Treasury Department, Ben Black, Chief Executive of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, explained that the facility, developed with the help of the United States Central Command, would combine federal reinsurance with security measures to restore the flow of oil, LNG, jet fuel, and other vital goods through the Strait of Hormuz.

“DFC coverage will offer a level of security no other policy can provide,” Black said at the time.

Greenberg's recent remarks suggest that the security aspect—especially the convoy part—was more essential to the program than had been previously understood.

He mentioned that participation in the insurance program directly depends on being part of U.S.-led convoys, a crucial detail that had not been clearly communicated before.

“The purchase of our insurance program is a condition to being part of a convoy that the U.S. would run,” Greenberg stated, adding that U.S. insurers would take on 50% of the risk while a federal entity covers the rest.

This implies that the backstop was never just meant to fill the gap left by missing war-risk insurance; rather, it was intended to be a key part of a broader security framework based on naval protection, risk-sharing by the government, and escorted transits. Without the convoy aspect, this plan has essentially remained inactive.

This situation is important because Washington initially thought that insurance capacity was the main issue keeping ships away from the Gulf.

However, this understanding has changed. While voyage-by-voyage war-risk coverage has returned, albeit at a high cost, shipowner confidence has not improved significantly.

Operators are still held back by real threats, including mines, missile and drone attacks, and uncertainty regarding safe passage. This reinforces what many in the industry have suggested for weeks: insurance was never the major issue; security was.

Greenberg's remarks seem to support this viewpoint.

They also clarify why raising the facility's capacity from $20 billion to $40 billion earlier this month did not significantly change traffic trends.

Essentially, the backstop appears to have been waiting for a naval escort plan that did not fully materialize.

This contrasts with the initial expectations that the program would help revive traffic through the Strait after it had dropped by more than 80% during the peak of the crisis.

Greenberg emphasized the geopolitical importance of the initiative rather than its commercial benefits.

“We have done it to support our country and our military,” he remarked, adding that the facility remains available if conditions improve.

These comments may also reduce speculation that the tepid response was due to low demand or problems with the underwriting process. According to Greenberg, the program did not fail to launch; it never truly got started.