Marine Insurance – Mitigating financial risk on the world's oceans

Marine Insurance


What happens if the cargo you're carrying on someone else's behalf is lost, stolen or damaged? Can you afford to pay compensation? Not many businesses can. Luckily marine insurance covers ocean and seagoing businesses against the loss or damage of the ships and boats themselves, their cargoes, the terminals they travel from and the transport by which the cargo is transferred, acquired, or stored between its points of origin and destination. 

Cargo insurance covers the cargo of a ship and the belongings of the crew. Hull insurance protects the actual vessel itself, along with its contents, things like furniture and fittings. Marine liability insurance pays out when compensation is sought because a ship has collided with another or otherwise damaged someone else's property, injured or killed people. And freight Insurance protects the owners of merchant ships when the cargo they're carrying for someone else is lost, damaged or stolen. If you'd like to find out more about all of the marine insurance policies we sell, click on the icons below.

Carrying cargo on the high seas and oceans is fraught with risk. You need to protect your company's finances properly. You might need cover on a voyage by voyage basis, or an annual policy. Either way our marine cargo insurance covers your goods in transit, both internationally and domestically in your country of origin. The goods you carry are  covered from end to end, including carriage by road, railway and air as well as the sea or ocean element of the journey. 

What is the purpose of Marine Cargo insurance?
Like all insurances, marine cargo insurance is designed to protect your finances. If you suffer a loss that's insured under the policy, making a valid claim will put you back in the same financial position as you were before that loss, which means your bottom line is protected and you can operate and grow with confidence.

Key features
This is what we cover via our top quality marine cargo insurance policies:

  • Fire
  • Explosion
  • Piracy
  • Accidental damage
  • Cargo loss
  • Cargo theft
  • Sinking
  • Grounding and stranding
  • Bad weather
  • Average and salvage charges
  • War, terrorism and industrial action
  • Road traffic accidents
  • Optional cover for temporary and long-term storage

Marine Cargo insurance risk management and claims
Your business is international. We help to protect your business globally, with all the knowledge and specialist expertise needed to negotiate the best coverage at the best price. But we do much more than simply sell marine insurances. We also provide expert risk management advice and we'll even support you throughout the claims process, helping you navigate valid claims to a successful outcome. Contact us to find out the details or request a fast, accurate, good value marine cargo insurance quote. 

Marine Operators Legal Liability insurance protects your business against the common legal risks faced by the owners of marinas. It includes risks concerning the care, custody, and control of water-craft, usually including land and water based risks. It's vital because as a marina operator you are directly legally responsible for giving vessels a safe, secure berth. Most policies offer cover for private pleasure boats but you can usually add on commercial vessels via a special endorsement should you need to.

What is the purpose of Marina Operators Legal Liability insurance?
When something goes wrong and you're legally liable, you must have the funds to make compensation payments. Most businesses don't have an endless supply of spare revenue. This insurance is designed to fill the gap and give your business the confidence required to grow and thrive, a valuable, comprehensive third party liability policy to suit the owners and operators of all sorts of shore and dockside facilities.

Key features
Marina Operators Legal Liability covers all the common legal liabilities faced by a Marina Operator as regards any visitors and other third parties, and the vessels that are under the marina's care, custody and control, including:

  • Repairing, altering or doing maintenance in dry dock
  • Storing vessels on land or water
  • Hauling out and launching vessels
  • Docking and mooring
  • Fuelling
  • Test driving vessels in the marina

Marina Operators Legal Liability insurance risk management and claims
We don't just sell insurance policies. We also work with our clients to manage the risks they face, and we'll support you all the way with making claims. Provided your claim is valid, with our help it'll be dealt with quickly, efficiently and effectively. Contact us to find out the details or get a quote. 

This is a special extension to a Hull & Machinery policy, activated by ship owners when a ship is declared a total loss. It protects the policyholder against a loss of income and the insured value is usually around 20% of the value of the hull and machinery insurance. It is ideal when you need to insure the full value or mortgage value of a vessel or the extra costs involved in replacing a vessel that's a total loss.

What is the purpose of Increased Value and Freight Interest insurance?
Increased Value (IV) and freight interest insurance is designed to protect your finances against a total loss of the insured vessel, keeping your company's income safe in the unlikely yet possible event that a ship in your control is completely and totally lost. 

Key features

  • Pays out after a total loss is declared on a Hull & Machinery insurance policy
  • Optional cover for Sue & Labour, excess Collision liability and General Average
  • Freight Interest covers the anticipated long term future of the owner of the vessel if there's a total loss, something that is excluded under Loss of Hire insurance

Increased value and Freight Interest insurance risk management and claims
As well as selling top quality, fairly-priced insurance products we also support our customers in the long term with expert risk management advice and guidance. We also provide a claims support service designed to ensure valid claims are paid as quickly and efficiently as possible, with minimal delays. Contact us to find out more or request a quote. 

Hull and Machinery insurance is bought by anyone responsible for the physical well-being of a vessel. It covers the cost of repairing physical loss or damage, compensation for the loss, expenses to prevent loss, collision liability and any expense associated with making a valid claim. It can also include coverage against the risks involved to shipping from war and strikes.

What is the purpose of Hull and Machinery – War and Strikes insurance?

War and Strikes cover protects your finances against the financial effects of war, strikes, riots, civil commotions and more, and is usually arranged separately from the ship's Hull & Machinery insurance. It can also be extended to include War Protection and Indemnity Risks, as well as to cover trade to Lloyd's of London's 'excluded' areas under a specific agreement.

Key features
A war and strikes Hull & Machinery policy extension protects your vessel against these risks:

  • Loss or damage caused by an act of war
  • Includes civil war, revolution, rebellion, riot, hijacking or detention, all usually excluded from standard Hull & Machinery cover
  • Loss or damage caused by strikes, labour unrest and any disturbances related to or connected with them

Hull and Machinery – War and Strikes insurance risk management and claims
As well as providing our clients with exceptional insurance policies at excellent prices, we also help them avoid risks in the first place with a professional risk management service. If you need to make a claim we will also help you with that, ensuring things are brought to a successful conclusion wherever possible. Feel free to Contact us for details or a fast, efficient quote.  

FD&D cover is vital when you need to protect your corporate finances against lawsuits. It pays out for legal representation and expert advice in relation to claims, disputes and any other matter of a shipping nature, protecting you against the risks that are not traditionally dealt with via P&I cover or any other type of policy. If you operate in the shipping sector, which often proves notoriously expensive when things go wrong, it's an essential element of your commercial insurance portfolio.

What is the purpose of Marine Freight, Demurrage & Defence insurance (FD&D)?
FD&D policies provide cover for assistance with claims handling and associated legal costs regarding a broad range of legal and insurance-led disputes. 

Key features
Our cost-effective marine freight, demurrage and defence insurance covers the costs of pursuing and defending claims and disputes concerning:

  • Yacht, boat and ship charters 
  • Carriage contracts and contracts of Affreightment
  • Bills of Lading
  • Vessel building, sales and purchase contracts
  • Ship broking and management service contracts
  • Vessel repair contracts
  • Crew contracts
  • Marine insurance contracts
  • Agency, stevedore, towing and salvage contracts
  • Insurance broking contracts
  • Bunker and necessaries contracts

Marine FD&D insurance risk management and claims
When your other insurances don't cover you, FD&D steps in to fill the gap and deliver the protection you need. We have the specialist expertise needed to negotiate the best cover at an affordable cost, but we also provide expert risk management advice and give vital support with making valid claims. Contact us to find out more or ask for a quote.

Marine kidnappings are common these days, with certain areas of ocean at more risk than others and hotspots in the Sulu Sea, Peru and Bangladesh, Nigeria and Somalia. In fact, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau's latest annual piracy report, more crew were kidnapped at sea in 2016 than in any of the previous 10 years, even though piracy is the lowest it has been since 1998. Negotiations can be complex, lengthy and fraught with difficulties, which is why this type of cover is so important.   

What is the purpose of Marine Kidnap for Ransom and Hijack insurance?
Marine kidnap for ransom and hijacking are real, significant threats to your people, vessels and assets. This insurance protects organisations like yours against financial losses arising from crew and vessels being illegally seized or detained for ransom, protecting shipowners against costs that are not catered for under other policies.

Key features
Here are the major risks that our Marine Kidnap for Ransom and Hijack insurance policies cover you against:

  • Ransom
  • The loss of ransom money in transit
  • Crisis consultants to support a positive outcome
  • Legal liability
  • Additional expenses including death and injury to crew members
  • Crew rehabilitation

Marine K&R insurance risk management and claims
We sell marine kidnap for ransom and hijack cover. We also provide expert risk management advice and we can help you throughout the claims process as you navigate your way to a successful outcome. Contact us to find out more or ask for a good value K&R quote. 

Helping business grow with confidence, and individuals protect their finances