With insurance cover limited, many companies in the maritime industry will be forced to take a financial hit from the coronavirus outbreak, law firm DWF has warned, adding that the bill is likely to run into “billions of dollars”. In a comment on the impact of the virus outbreak on maritime and trade, Jonathan Moss, head of marine and trade…
Europe is losing market share of global marine business to Asia, which is proving to be strong competition for the Lloyd’s and London market, according to a new statistical report by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). In 2018, marine premiums totalled $28.9bn, up just 1%, and European underwriters accounted for the majority of business at 46%, with Asian…
The buzz around autonomous shipping could be premature, with the adoption of fully automated ships likely to take decades rather than years, according to law firm Kennedys. The legal and regulatory obstacles are too substantial for autonomy to reach its full potential any time soon, the law firm said. Regulatory standards led by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the…
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) will discontinue marine hull and marine liability (HML) business in Asia and North America. In July of this year, AGCS confirmed that it would cease underwriting long-tail financial risks in Australia and New Zealand from September, following a strategic review of the business. It confirmed that it would also close its operations in New…
A single cyberattack on major ports across Asia-Pacific could cost $110bn, which is roughly equivalent to half of all losses from natural catastrophes globally in 2018, according to new research released by Lloyd’s. Under the extreme scenario, a huge 60% of the losses would be from business interruption and contingent business interruption (CBI) claims and 57% would be silent cyber…
Insured losses from last month’s Typhoon Hagibis in Japan will be between $7bn and $11bn, according to estimates from cat risk modelling firm RMS. This compares to an earlier estimate between $8bn and $16bn by rival modelling firm AIR. The storm was one of the biggest to hit Japan and struck many of the same areas recovering from Typhoon Faxai…
Specialist Lloyd’s-based insurer Beazley has followed up its announcement made earlier this week about its Asian expansion plans, by revealing that it has taken a 30% stake in Pegasus, a Hong Kong-based coverholder. Beazley began working with Pegasus in January 2019, in an arrangement that the insurer said combines the coverholder’s knowledge of the market and strong broking relationships with…
The UK P&I Club has warned member shipping companies that it has been notified by Oasis P&I Services Company of cases in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao and some other Chinese ports where local Maritime Situational Awareness (MSA) offices have strengthening supervision and imposed penalties on ships that were found to be in breach of sulphur fuel rules. The club explained that…
The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has called for greater law enforcement and business action to mitigate the growing risk of cargo theft, which it warns has reached “alarming proportions”. In a position paper published to coincide with its annual conference in Toronto, IUMI proposed dedicated cargo theft taskforces to coordinate law enforcement across borders and develop effective networks…
The marine cargo and hull insurance markets appear to have “bottomed out” and are now showing “modest uplift”, according to the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). But it warned that the 1% rise in global marine premium last year will not be enough to address the sector’s underlying problems. At its annual conference in Toronto, Canada this week, IUMI…