The Nordic Association of Marine Insurers ( Cefor) issued an annual report to provide an overview of the marine insurance market during 2015. The report includes statistics with a focus on vessels built in Asia and reveals the ocean hull trends. Last year, Cefor reported that costly fires and explosions even rose slightly concluding that ”fires are few in number, very costly, and continue to keep insurers busy”.
Cefor reported in the 2014 Annual Report that the frequency of fi res on RoRo and passenger vessels was on the rise. Unfortunately, this does not seem to have been enough to raise awareness and reduce the frequency of this happening. In 2015, costly fires and explosions even rose slightly, as graph 15 illustrates. Fires also contributed to the high number of total losses in 2015. According to the report, around half of the large claims and a quarter of the total losses stem from fires. Sadly, the most expensive claim in 2015, a total loss, occurred on a passenger vessel – exactly the kind of tonnage one least wishes to see on fire.
One notable trend is the one in expensive machinery claims. In 2007, the number of machinery claims in excess of USD 500,000 exceeded the number of navigational related claims for the first time. In the years thereafter, both frequencies have improved significantly, but the machinery frequency is still slightly higher than the navigational related frequency. While the indisputably appreciable decrease is a real improvement, one should not forget that the situation has only returned to the level seen before the shipping boom.
Cefor explains that in terms of frequency, machinery claims are the most frequent individual claim type and account for 40% of all claims. The combined total of all nautical-related claims (grounding, collision, contact, and ice) account for 44% of the total number of claims, with contact claims showing the highest frequency.
In terms of cost, the breakdown among claim types is more volatile. Since engine-related claims include a number of minor claims, their relative impact on cost is lower. Fire/explosions and groundings represent few but costly claims, and costly fire/explosion claims were again reported in 2015.
Further details may be found by reading the Annual Report on Marine Insurance Market in 2015 issued by Cefor
Source: Nordic Association of Marine Insurers ( Cefor)
