Marine Insurance
Marine insurance is the indemnity for the loss of cargo or damage to ships during the shipment. The risks that marine insurance covers are fire, seizures, wars, accidents or causalities which take place over the sea. The winds and waves are not included as risks in the marine insurance.
The Indian Marine Insurance Act, 1963 is imbibed from the Marine Insurance Act, 1906. Though the Marine Insurance Act is deep in its insurance coverage, it does not provide for losses that occur while the ship is sailing the waters. This has led to the introduction of another insurance called the Marine Cargo Insurance, which provides for losses to cargo while the ship is sailing the waters. This is very beneficial to oil tankers and heavy cargo ships.
Types of Marine Insurance
Since Marine Insurance is very vast, it provides for various types of insurance as per the need, specification and requirement. They are:
Hull Insurance – This insurance covers for both vessel and its apparatus such as fuel, tools, furniture, machinery etc.
Freight Insurance - This insurance usually covers for the loss of freight. If the goods are safely shifted to the destination port, the owner of goods will have to pay the freight charges but if the ship faces any damages and losses, the shipping company will be under loss. Hence this insurance becomes a necessity to the owner company.
Cargo Insurance- This insurance covers the personal goods of the passengers and crew of the ship. It also covers the goods that are transported.
Liability Insurance – This is the insurance which is utilized when the insured suffers losses due to liability to third party. This liability may be caused due to risks such as collision of ships or any other similar causality that may take place in voyage.
Types of Marine Insurance Policies
There are various types of marine insurance policies that the assured can opt for:
Time Policy- This policy is taken for a time period of usually one year.
Voyage Policy – This policy coverage is given only for a particular voyage say from starting point to the destination.
Mixed Policy – As the name suggests it is a mixture of both voyage and time policy.
Valued Policy – In this case, an additional fixed value is mentioned in the policy itself along with the value of goods. For example, along with goods the charges can also be added such as freight charges and shipment charges.
Unvalued Policy - Here no additional charges are mentioned. It is decided after the incident after proving it.
Floating Policy–This policy is beneficial to exporter who provides regular supply of goods. This policy is taken for large sum of money for numerous shipments.
Other Important Pointers:
- Marine insurance is available in all general insurance companies.
- The insurance amount may vary from one company to another.
- It is important that the insured makes a note of the coverage made by the insurance companies as few companies may not cover all the losses of the shipment.
- With the increasing attacks by pirates and natural calamities, it is important to have a marine insurance that takes care of the risks aboard.
Contributed By: Aruna Sharma |
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Mrs. Sharma holds a Masters in Financial Management from University of Mumbai. She has graduated from the University of Mumbai. | |
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