👉 Background: Countries have been trying to sanction Russia so it ends its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been excluded from the global financial payments system and a HEAP of companies have exited the country.

👉  What happened: Late last week, the EU agreed to cut 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. But that ain't all, the UK and the EU are now reportedly set to ban ships transporting Russian oil from getting insurance.

👉 What else: The ban will likely come into effect in six months, and the hope is it leads to a lot less Russian oil being sold and transported.

🔔 What's the key learning?

💡 Given the huge value of oil shipments… insurance is vital, and banning it might just be more effective than banning oil imports themselves 💸.

💡 When you think about it, the EU oil embargo doesn't really prevent Russia from shipping its oil elsewhere... but sanctions on insurance might. That's because many ports actually decline entry to ships without insurance.

💡 The EU banned insurance on Iranian oil about a decade ago, and it was supposedly the single most effective measure in taking a significant part of the Islamic Republic's oil off markets. So hopefully, this could be the double whammy Russia needs to reconsider its actions.