Articles
Guide To Marine Insurance In India
by Amit Joshi content writerWaterways are the oldest means of transporting goods between places. In olden days those were the fastest means of carrying good compared to road ways; as there were only limited options of land transport. With the development of transportation mediums, people started to use other modes for carrying goods. However, even today if you are to carry a large quantity of goods; especially to a different country; you relay on water ways. From ancient times the risk associated with sea route transport remains the same. Nevertheless, these days people have started insuring their good and the vessel, so that they will not suffer the loss even if some natural calamity happens.
Marine Insurance for your vessel
Marine insurance consists of the insurance for the vessel and for the cargo. Hull and Machinery (H&M) Insurance covers only the insurance of the vessel; that too only if there is a total loss (referred as TLO or Total Loss only) and not any partial damages. Cargo insurance or freight insurance as the words explains covers for the cargo. This covers for the damage, loss or theft of the goods in transit. If you are depending on a shipping company to transport your commodities, you insure them with Cargo insurance; whereas the shipping company would have an H&M insurance for their ship.
The objective of marine insurance in India is to cover the shipment and the vessel. However, there are no list of perils or incidence against which protection will be provided by the insurance providers. Most of the insurance policies covers total or partial damage to expensive goods. Some of the risk coverages are:
For import and export shipments
Transport through rail, air, sea or post
Transport of goods between ports inside the country
Transport of goods through inland waters (rivers/lakes)
Marine insurance in India does not cover:
Pirate attacks
Damage duo to wear and tear or leakage
Loss due to delay
Damage or loss due to civil war, riots or strikes
Loss due to bankruptcy of the customer/ship owner
Insurance claim procedure is similar to any insurance claim. However, unlike a life insurance claim there may be an investigation or you may have to submit a joint ship/port survey to prove that claim.
Marine underwriting
The people who provide marine insurance is known as marine underwriter; process of insuring your commodities is known as underwriting. Underwriters are experts who make sure that their clients are protected from almost all unforeseen causalities and damages. Marine underwriting is a complicated job. The underwriting should cover all the dimensions of a causalities. The underwriter should concentrate on the vessel as such, the cargo, the place where the loss happened, and the amount needed for settling the claim. As we all know insurance companies are looking for a reason to reject the claim; hence the underwriting should be perfect to get the insurance sanctioned. The underwriter should be aware of all the insurance laws and regulations of each to country (depending on export and import) if he/she wants to provide the necessary service to the clients.Sponsor Ads
About Amit Joshi 
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