The "dynamic nature of maritime trade makes speed and service particularly important", according to Markel senior underwriter - marine Wanshi Lin.
“A decision on whether insurance cover is available can often be required within a few hours of a vessel’s transit, such as those shipments choosing to sail through the Red Sea instead of diverting around the Cape of Good Hope,” she said.
Ms. Lin also said that this accentuates “the importance of policyholders having real-time access to decision makers to manage their exposure and get requisite insurance support”.
The speed of insurance support can also be improved with big data, she said.
“War breach insurance currently requires a ship owner to seek clearance from its insurer before entering a breach zone.
“An alternative would be to use geolocation data to automatically obtain insurance cover, subject to pre-agreed terms and sanctions compliance. In the long run, this should reduce the administrative cost for all parties in a transaction, ultimately providing better value to the end policyholder,” she said.
According to Ms. Lin, a trend in Asia over recent years is that of regulators and policyholders increasingly desiring closer access to insurance capital and decision making, leading to an increase in onshore foreign insurers.
“Closer proximity encourages the insurance industry to respond to specific local needs that may, at times, be more advanced than in other regions,” she said.
An example, she believes, was the Port of Singapore Authority’s ambition to reduce its absolute carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
“Steps towards this have included the proposed introduction of battery-operated port craft – some of the first globally – that require specific new local insurance solutions,” she said.
Source: asiainsurancereview.com
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