Global marine premiums up 1.5%

Global marine premiums rose 1.5% last year to $39.92bn (€34.36bn), with steady growth continuing in Asia but things plateauing in Europe and Asia, according to new figures from the International Union of Marine Insurance (Iumi). Europe accounted for 46.96% of marine premiums in 2024, with Asia/Pacific on 29.79%, Latin America 10.19%, North America 7.75%, the Middle East 3.53% and Africa 1.38%. The largest share of marine business was cargo at 57.23%, followed by global hull at 23.51%, offshore energy at 11.71% and marine liability, excluding P&I covered by the international group of clubs, 7.55%. Iumi added that global marine claims environment continues to be “relatively benign”. This has translated into a good performance when it comes to loss ratios for the hull and cargo business lines. However, it added that the perennial challenges of ever-larger vessels, net-zero, mis-declared cargoes, accumulations, vessels fires and high-risk zones remain. Cargo premiums were up 1.6% last year to $22.6bn, according to the figures released at Iumi’s annual conference in Singapore. Europe is traditionally the leading cargo market and accounted for 37.68% of premiums in 2024, but is now experiencing a “slight” decline, said Iumi. Asia/Pacific accounted for 35.15% of cargo premiums in 2024 and they continue to rise in this region. As a result, the gap between the European and Asian markets is narrowing, said Iumi. It explained that loss ratios for cargo insurance have been improving steadily since 2018, which is encouraging new capacity into the market. “In 2023 and 2024, Europe reported exceptionally low loss ratios, while Latin America remained at an average of 40–50%. In the US, a small number of companies reported poor results, pushing the brown water market average to around 50-60%,” said Iumi. “An absence of any major catastrophic loss in 2024 coupled with containable attritional losses have contributed to a stable cargo market. However, the impact of the current economic and political uncertainties is yet to be seen,” it added. The ocean hull insurance sector reported global premiums of $9.67bn in 2024, up 3.5%. IUMI said the European hull market still dominates with 52.91% of premium, adding that the gap between Europe and Asia continues to widen. Several European countries reported “notable” hull premium growth in 2024 partly influenced by swinging exchange rates, said Iumi. Turkey recorded an increase of more than 30%, the Nordics reported a stable 5% rise. Russia, which is included in the European reporting, announced growth of 15% as a result of sanctions. In Asia, China reported 9% growth in hull premiums. However, the overall trend for Asia over the past year has flattened, with Chinese performance partly compensating for weaker results in other Asian markets such as India, Singapore and Japan, said Iumi. The average hull loss ratio has remained relatively stable in Europe at around 60-65% since 2021. Global premiums in the offshore energy market were, however, down 7.9% to $4.34bn in 2024. The UK market continued to dominate with a global premium share of 67.33%. Iumi said the offshore energy market continues to face a prolonged soft cycle, which is now in its fifth to sixth year. While 2024 saw no major offshore energy claims, attritional losses remain the main concern, it added. Jun Lin, chair of the Iumi Facts & Figures Committee, said: "The marine insurance sector is relatively stable but faces some strong headwinds, with geopolitical and trade tensions creating an unprecedented level of uncertainty across global trade. While growth in seaborne trade has slowed – partly due to tariffs and a normalisation following the extraordinary demand surge in 2024 – it is encouraging to see growth in cleaner fuel volumes outpacing those of fossil fuels.” He added that while tariffs are having an impact, they are currently affecting less than 4% of global trade. Lin said interest rates have already started to fall globally and the reduction in inflation will likely impact overall profitability for most insurers. “Similarly, the weakening US dollar will squeeze top line premium income and add to claims costs for those insurers paying out in non-US dollar currencies,” he said.

Global marine premiums up 1.5%

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