Insurance Losses News

Top Threats for the Marine Industry in 2023

Allianz just released its 12th Risk Barometer, an annual corporate risk survey incorporating the views of 2,712 risk management experts in 94 countries and territories, including CEOs, risk managers, brokers and insurance experts. The overall global results reveal Cyber incidents and Business interruption as the biggest company concerns for the second year in succession. Macroeconomic developments such as inflation, financial market volatility and a looming recession rose to the third spot followed by the impact of the Energy crisis…

Insurance Insights: Larger Vessels, Larger Exposures

The blocking of the Suez Canal by one of the largest container ships in service in the world – the Ever Given – in March 2021 caused huge delays to hundreds of vessels waiting to transit the canal, one of the biggest chokepoints on the critical East/West trade shipping route. The blockage was estimated to have affected an estimated $9.6bn of goods each day, or around 12% of total world trade.The latest in a growing list of incidents involving large vessels, the Ever Given has…

Lebanon Asks Interpol to Arrest Ship Captain, Owner Over Beirut Port Blast

Lebanon has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for the Russian captain and owner of the ship that brought the explosive material that detonated at Beirut port in August, killing nearly 200 people, state media reported on Thursday.About two months after the explosion that injured thousands and ravaged the Lebanese capital, questions remain about why and how the cargo was abandoned in Beirut.Authorities have blamed it on the huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, used for fertilizer but also for explosives…

Brokers Calculate Marine Insurance Losses from Beirut Blast

Insurance claims for damage to ships, goods and the port itself after a warehouse explosion last week in the port of Beirut were likely to total less than $250 million, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Monday.Overall insured losses - including property damage - from the August 4 port warehouse detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate may reach around $3 billion, sources told Reuters last week.The explosion killed at least 163 people, injured more than 6…

China Port Cargo Losses to Reach $1.5 bln

Explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin last month would lead to cargo losses of at least $1.5 billion, and were having a "significant impact" on the marine insurance sector, a trade body said on Tuesday. "We are expecting to see cargo losses of at least $1.5 billion, with some reports stating that the final figure could be as high as $6 billion," Nick Derrick, chairman of the International Union of Marine Insurance's cargo committee, said in a statement. The incident should provide a "substantial wake-up call to all cargo insurers", he added. Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, a unit of Marsh & McLennan , said earlier this month that insurance losses for buildings, cargo, containers and property as a result of the explosions could total up to $3.3 billion.

Panama Canal Expansion Poses Billion Dollar Challenge

As the Panama Canal prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, insurers are warning of the increased risks that will arise from its plan to double the cargo-carrying capacity of ships transiting one of the world’s most important waterways. In a new report entitled Panama Canal 100: Shipping Safety and Future Risks leading marine insurer, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) identifies that the value of insured goods transiting the canal zone may increase by more than $1 billion per day following completion of the Third Set of Locks Project…

Safety in Numbers

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.