Marine Insurance: Info Guide

Marine insurance

Marine insurance covers the loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch of marine insurance, though Marine insurance also includes Onshore and Offshore exposed property, (container terminals, ports, oil platforms, pipelines), Hull, Marine Casualty, and Marine Liability. When goods are transported by mail or courier, shipping insurance is used instead.

What is marine insurance? A simple definition of the word insurance would be “Protection against future loss.”  Marine insurance is another variant of the general term ‘insurance’ and as the name suggests is provided to ships, boats and most importantly, the cargo that is carried in them.

Marine insurance is very important because, through marine insurance, ship owners and transporters can be sure of claiming damages especially considering the mode of transportation used. Of the four modes of transport – road, rail, air and water – it is the latter most which causes a lot of worry to the transporters not only because there are natural occurrences which have the potential to harm the cargo and the vessel but also other incidents and attributes which could cause a huge loss in the financial casket of the transporter and the shipping corporation.

Incidents like piracy and possibilities like cross-border shoot-outs also pose a major threat when it comes to water transportation and therefore in order to avoid any loss because of such events and happenings, in the interest of the corporation and the transporter, it is always beneficial to have a back-up like marine insurance.

Different Types of Marine Insurance & Marine Insurance Policies

1. Hull Insurance
2. Machinery Insurance
3. Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Insurance
4. Liability Insurance
5. Freight, Demurrage and Defense (FD&D) Insurance
6. Freight Insurance
7. Marine Cargo Insurance

Hull Insurance: Hull insurance mainly caters to the torso and hull of the vessel along with all the articles and pieces of furniture on the ship. This type of marine insurance is mostly taken out by the owner of the ship to avoid any loss to the vessel in case of any mishaps occurring.

Machinery Insurance: All the essential machinery are covered under this insurance and in case of any operational damages, claims can be compensated (post survey and approval by the surveyor).

The above two insurances also come as one under Hull & Machinery (H&M) Insurance. The H&M insurance can also be extended to cover war risk covers and strike cover (strike in port may lead to delay and increase in costs)

Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Insurance: This insurance is provided by the P&I club, which is ship owners mutual insurance covering the liabilities to the third party and risks which are not covered elsewhere in standard H & M and other policies.

Protection: Risks which are connected with ownership of the vessel. E.g. Crew related claims.

Indemnity: Risks which are related to the hiring of the ship. E.g. Cargo-related claims.

Liability Insurance: Liability insurance is that type of marine insurance where compensation is sought to be provided to any liability occurring on account of a ship crashing or colliding and on account of any other induced attacks.

Freight, Demurrage and Defense (FD&D) Insurance: Often referred to as “FD&D” or simply “Defense,” this insurance provides claims for handling assistance and legal costs for a wide range of disputes which are not covered under H&M or P&I insurance.

Freight Insurance: Freight insurance offers and provides protection to merchant vessels’ corporations which stand a chance of losing money in the form of freight in case the cargo is lost due to the ship meeting with an accident. This type of marine insurance solves the problem of companies losing money because of a few unprecedented events and accidents occurring.

Marine Cargo Insurance: Cargo insurance caters specifically to the marine cargo carried by ship and also pertains to the belongings of a ship’s voyages. It protects the cargo owner against damage or loss of cargo due to ship accident or due to delay in the voyage or unloading. Marine cargo insurance has third-party liability covering the damage to the port, ship or other transport forms (rail or truck) resulted from the dangerous cargo carried by them

The time limit for claims that are right to compensation may vary depending upon the content of the policy, and an action is to be brought within that period from the date when the damage occurred.

For Newly built ships, the shipowner is under contract with the shipyard to take out insurance cover for a period (usually one year) from the date of yard delivery.