The insurance giant Suncorp says it will no longer cover new thermal coal mines and power stations and end all dealings with such by 2025.

The company revealed that its insurance and investment portfolio exposure to fossil fuels was already at just 0.5 percent, and it would not "directly invest in, finance or underwrite new thermal coal mining extraction projects or new thermal coal electricity generation" and they will "phase out these exposers by 2025."

Suncorp was the last major Australian insurer to announce that it will no longer underwrite, finance or invest in new coal after QBE announced that concerns over the undeniable reality of climate change prompted it to stop offering new policies for thermal coal mines and coal-fired power stations.  QBE will pull out of its existing deals by 2030.

"It means that insurance companies are recognising the financial risks that thermal coal poses, both in terms of potential asset risks and reputational risks," said Annika Dean of the Climate Council in an interview with the SBS.  "This basically means that coal-fired generators will not be able to get insurance post-2030.  It sends a very clear signal to energy-generation companies that the future is not in thermal coal ... the future is in renewable energy."