LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Bank for

Reconstruction and Development is launching a 110 million euro

guarantee to jumpstart war risk reinsurance for inland transport

in Ukraine.

The bank estimates the scheme could facilitate insurance

cover for over 1 billion euro worth of goods and vehicles in

transit each year - its latest effort to boost Ukraine's economy

as it approaches its third year of war with Russia.

The plan, in partnership with Aon, aims to get global

reinsurance companies, which have largely excluded Ukraine,

Russia and Belarus since last year, to guarantee local losses.

That would allow Ukrainian insurance companies to get some

exposure off their books - and thus offer more coverage.

"This facility should make insurance more accessible," said

Francis Malige, EBRD's Managing Director for Financial

Institutions, adding that capacity in Ukraine's insurance market

is extremely limited. "We are trying to kick start a market

here."

EBRD said that international reinsurer MS Amlin would

participate in the donor-backed scheme, along with Ukrainian

insurance companies INGO, Colonnade and UNIQA.

Malige said the scheme targeted inland cargo, motor vehicle

damage and railway rolling stock, as there is capacity to cover

it - in contrast with "fixed" assets such as energy

infrastructure, which have been frequent targets of Russian

attacks.

There is already a scheme backed by the Ukrainian government

to cover marine war insurance.

Other international lenders and governments, as well as

Ukranian banks and insurance companies, have tried to develop

other war-risk insurance systems, but the elevated,

unpredictable risks have meant high premiums - and thus limited

uptake.

Malige said that the aim was to help reinsurers understand

the risk, and become more comfortable with it, "so that with the

same pot of money, we can cover much larger scope of assets in

the country."

(Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Olena Harmash;

Editing by Toby Chopra)