Swiss Re teams up with EF Marine to enter fast-evolving Indian P&I market

Swiss Re has teamed up with Singapore-based insurer EF Marine to offer protection and indemnity (P&I) cover with potential limits up to $500m, to foreign ships that call at Indian ports. EF Marine, which has offices in Singapore and Rotterdam and provides AA-rated security from Swiss Re, announced that it is now an approved insurance provider for the purpose of the Indian Merchant Shipping (Regulation of Entry of Ships into Ports, Anchorages and Offshore facilities) Rules, 2012. Under these rules, any vessel of 300 GT or more that is not Indian-flagged must be adequately insured against maritime claims when entering or leaving ports, terminals, anchorages or seeking port facilities in Indian territorial waters, explained EF Marine in a statement. Operators of vessels need to show evidence that they have a valid P&I cover against maritime claims, from an insurance provider approved by the Government of India. The P&I cover must be valid during the vessel's stay in the port areas or offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of India or areas in the coastal waters of India. Without it, vessels are not allowed to enter or leave Indian territorial waters or facilities governed by Indian jurisdiction. The Indian marine insurance market is on the up. Until recently, the business has been dominated by the 13 insurers that are members of the London-based International Group of P&I Clubs, as well as leading European insurers such as Swiss Re. But last year, state-run New India Assurance became the first domestic insurer to offer P&I cover to Indian-registered vessels for local routes, and thus took the first steps in an effort to break European domination of the market. According to Indian news service Business Line, New India Assurance offered the cover to a pair of Type 2 river sea vessels run by Mumbai-based SVS Marine, after it was approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. “This is the beginning of P&I insurance in India,” Captain SP Rao, chairman of SVS Marine, told Business Line. The New India Assurance cover has a limit of $5m per vessel and with reinsurance support it can be increased by another $10m, according to New India. The withdrawal of the US from the nuclear accord with Iran and the reinstatement of sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation were also reasons for the launch of the new cover, according to Captain Rao. He told Business Line that this cover will be useful during an emergency in Iran, noting that previous western sanctions on Iran had forced the government to think of an Indian P&I cover to help secure supply. As European insurers withdrew cover to ships bringing Iranian crude because of the sanctions, India had to formulate an emergency third-party liability cover of $50m per shipment, through state-run United India Insurance. United India also offered an additional $50m cover on hull and machinery to protect the ships against physical damage. Indian shipowners, however, did not take the cover offered by United India because it was considered “inadequate”, reported Business Line. Captain Rao advised New India not to cover oceangoing ships for the time being, enabling them to gain experience with coastal ships for three to four years and then consider entering the oceangoing vessels market. Lars Lange, secretary general of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), sees potential in the Indian marine market. He visited Mumbai in June to meet General Insurance Council officials and marine underwriters of India. Speaking in an All India Marine Underwriters’ meeting at Cricket Club of India, Mr Lange spoke about the importance of Asia as a key focus and growth area for IUMI. He pointed out that 29% of global marine insurance business comes from Asia, adding that he sees great potential for growth in the Indian marine insurance industry. He said it is very likely that important IUMI meetings and conferences will take place in India in the near future. Earlier, R Chandrasekaran, secretary general, General Insurance Council, spoke about the importance of marine business and the need to further improve professional skills. He urged the underwriters to take more and more interest in the subject and try to become members of IUMI technical committees. To encourage this line of business, General Insurance Council has launched a special programme for skills development and advised members to make use of the vast pool of knowledge and resources provided by IUMI.

Swiss Re teams up with EF Marine to enter fast-evolving Indian P&I market

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