Seacurus provides industry first with insurance cover for unpaid crew wages
Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus has launched an insurance policy to indemnify seafarers in the event of the financial default of their employers.
The policy will enable all employers of seafarers to meet their regulatory obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), which enters force on 20th August, 2013.
Called CrewSEACURE, the policy provides up to $10 mill of cover in the event of an employer’s financial default. It includes personal accident protection and covers medical expenses as well as subsistence and repatriation costs. It will also respond, unlike any other product currently on the market, in respect of the non-payment of seafarers’ wages, for a period of up to six months, the company claimed.
CrewSEACURE is underwritten by A-rated global insurers in the Lloyd’s and Company markets in London. It offers an independent round-the-clock claims service managed by Thomas Miller Claims. It also includes a claims mandate, which protects the interests of shipowner and seafarer alike to ensure a fair claims process. A 24-hour helpline is available for seafarers and their advisers, who are afforded direct access to the insurers’ claims adjusters.
In order to deliver the CrewSEACURE product to market, Seacurus will act as managing general underwriters with access to Lloyd’s security led by Brit Syndicates and companies’ market security provided by Aspen Insurance UK.
CrewSEACURE provides cover which meets flag state and port state control approval and is authenticated by a ship-specific MLC 2006 insurance certificate to demonstrate compliance with the new convention. Comprehensive cover is provided at low cost, with premiums of as little as 50 cents per seafarer per day available.
Thomas Brown, managing director of UK-based Seacurus, said, “CrewSEACURE has been designed to cover the requirements of MLC. The shipping industry faces economic challenges. Not all shipowners and operators will survive the current global recession, and this will inevitably have a knock-on effect on those seafarers who are caught up in the resulting bankruptcy cases. Just recently, for example, we saw arrest orders issued by a court in the Far East in respect of two tankers after crew complained they had not been paid for almost three months.”
Giles Heimann, secretary-general of IMEC (International Maritime Employers Council Ltd), said, “IMEC and its members believe that the Maritime Labour Convention is the most significant piece of maritime legislation for many years. We are committed to supporting our members in the run-up to its introduction in August 2013, and to working with them to secure effective and fit-for-purpose provision for seafarers and employers alike. I am pleased to see that companies such as Seacurus are providing options for the industry, to support their obligations under MLC.”
Source: CrewSeacure
