“Blockchain” and the World of Marine Insurance
If you’ve been working in the marine insurance industry lately, you will have heard about “blockchain” at some point; it is the electronic, distributed ledger, notoriously known for enabling the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. But the blockchain technology’s utility goes beyond cryptocurrencies, potentially offering creative ways to solve other real-world problems. Within blockchain ledgers, the use of ‘smart’ contracts essentially converts contractual obligations into lines of computer protocols, which facilitate, verify, or enforce its performance.
Insights: H. Elder Brown, Jr.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fidelis Group Holdings LLC and Continental Underwriters, Ltd. For those in the marine insurance and underwriting communities, H. Elder Brown, Jr. needs no introduction. That’s because over the course of the past 27 years, Brown has taken Continental Underwriters Ltd. (CUL) from a small family business to one of the largest brown water marine underwriters in the United States. More recently, Brown returned CUL to private ownership by purchasing CUL back from Houston Casualty Company in 2009.
U.S. Marine Insurers To Review State Of Market
Trends and developments affecting the U.S. ocean marine insurance market will be discussed at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU) on Friday, Nov. 19 in New York City. The meeting will be held in the Ricker Auditorium, 180 Maiden Lane, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Ed Badolato, chairman of the National Cargo Security Council (NCSC), will be the featured speaker. The NCSC is a broad-based organization of government agencies and private industry working together to fight cargo theft. AIMU chairman James A. Zrebiec, chairman of International Marine Underwriters, a member of the CGU Insurance Group, will report on issues in the global marine insurance marketplace. Walter Kramer, AIMU president, will discuss AIMU program initiatives.
