Loss Prevention Services News

The Swedish Club announced it has opened a new full-service office in Singapore, responsible for members in Singapore and other markets in Asia, including India, Japan and Thailand.Brian Png, Team Manager for the Singapore office, said, "Singapore is widely recognized as one of the most important maritime hubs in the world, and the opening of this new office is an important step for The Swedish Club. It will complement Team Hong Kong and enable us jointly to fully capitalise on our all-in-one offering and secure and further enhance our position in Asia…

When it comes to insuring your assets, changing markets and risk variables demand better understanding of the underwriting process, as well as a long-term, stable relationship with an insurer who – like you – is in for the long run.U.S. inventor Thomas Edison once said, “There is no substitute for hard work.” Nobody knows this better than the men and women who operate diverse and industrious workboat fleets.Ferrying commuters, towing dry and liquid bulk, and assisting larger ocean…

TT Club has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015, and AM Best affirms its A- (Excellent) rating for the 10th consecutive year. Knud Pontoppidan, Chairman of TT Club, said, “After very good years in 2013 and 2014, 2015 was what most might be described as a ‘normal year’. Incidents such as Tianjin and a number of cargo-related fires meant the Club experienced a higher number of large claims above $1million than in 2013 and 2014. “Despite the increase in large claims, and the soft rating conditions, the Club continues to be in good shape,” Pontoppidan said. “The Board and I are pleased with our very high retention levels in 2015 at 93 percent and the feedback we receive from Members and brokers on our service levels.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited a shipyard for 61 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards. Faced with $293,450 in proposed fines, the shipyard’s alleged violations include electrical hazards, such as failure to guard lights from damage, failure to provide effective electrical grounding for equipment, failure to provide covers on electrical box openings, and failure to ensure wiring was protected from abrasion and strain.

TT Club, established to fill a gap in insurance as the freight container revolutionized trade, celebrates 45 years dedicated service to the transport and logistics sector. In 1956, the first strengthened containers were loaded onto a spar deck of the converted tanker, Ideal X. This marked the fulfilment of a dream for American trucker Malcom McLean who had, since 1937, been working on how to reduce the long waiting hours for dockers to stow or unload his vehicles onto or off ships. The container age was quietly born.

While the impact of poor freight rates and low oil prices have been felt in all quarters of the Scandinavian maritime industries, the region's hull underwriters and P&I Clubs continue to benefit from the relatively strong domestic shipping and energy sectors. Scandinavian marine insurers have demonstrated resilience in challenging market conditions. The global hull market remains in a downswing of unusual severity. As for the P&I sector, the past 12 months have had a nervous character, with talk of mergers and the increasing profile of the fixed premium players. The Swedish Club, the Gothenburg-headquartered marine mutual, is committed to both sectors - providing total package hull and P&I services. In the hull sector, the Club has refused to follow the market in its downward spiral.

While the impact of poor freight rates and low oil prices have been felt in all quarters of the Scandinavian maritime industries, the region's hull underwriters and P&I Clubs continue to benefit from the relatively strong domestic shipping and energy sectors. Scandinavian marine insurers have demonstrated resilience in challenging market conditions. The global hull market remains in a downswing of unusual severity. As for the P&I sector, the past 12 months have had a nervous character, with talk of mergers and the increasing profile of the fixed premium players. The Swedish Club, the Gothenburg-headquartered marine mutual, is committed to both sectors - providing total package hull and P&I services. In the hull sector, the Club has refused to follow the market in its downward spiral.

Electronic communication is not totally secure despite a seemingly bug-free transition into 2000, warns The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). E-mail systems may help in reducing communication costs but they can still lead to substantial losses at the touch of a button. The latest issue of ITIC's Claims Review reports the case of a charterer who had invited tenders for a long-term charter. A shipbroker sent his principal's bid via an industry message system to the charterers' mailbox in the U.S. using an address code for the charterer. Unfortunately, the American system interpreted the code as a mailing list and the bid was circulated to a number of other owners. The principal did not secure the bid, claiming it was undercut as a result of its inadvertent publication.