Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance is the cornerstone of liability protection for anyone involved in the ownership and operation of ships. While hull and machinery insurance protects the vessel itself, it is P&I cover that responds when the operation of that vessel causes injury, loss or damage to others. For a shipowner, a single incident – a crew injury, a pollution event, a cargo claim – can generate liabilities far exceeding the value of the ship. Our Owner P&I cover is designed to protect Members against precisely this range of third-party liabilities, backed by a global claims service that stands beside the Member from the first notification to final settlement.
Who Can Be Covered
Membership of our club is generally open to registered owners, operators, managers or charterers of a ship. However, modern shipping is rarely a single-entity business. If you are a registered owner, it is likely that you are part of a corporate structure that includes other legal entities – holding companies, management companies, crewing agencies and affiliated operators – each of which could incur liabilities arising from the operation of a ship. Our cover can be structured to extend protection across these associated entities as joint Members or co-assureds, ensuring that no part of your organisation is left exposed. During the entry process, our underwriters will review your corporate structure with you and recommend the most efficient way to bring every relevant entity within the protection of the club.
The Risks We Cover
The scope of Owner P&I cover has developed over more than a century of maritime practice, and today it responds to virtually every third-party liability a shipowner is likely to face. The major areas of cover provided are set out below.
1. Loss of Life, Personal Injury and Illness
This is historically the heart of P&I cover. In respect of members of the crew, the cover responds to liabilities for injury, illness and death, including hospital and medical expenses, repatriation costs, compensation payments under the crew contract or applicable law, and the cost of sending substitute crew to the ship. In respect of any other person – passengers, stevedores, pilots, surveyors, visitors and third parties on board or ashore – the cover responds to the Member’s legal liability for injury, illness or loss of life arising out of the operation of the entered ship.
2. Damage to Property
Ships operate in close proximity to valuable infrastructure, and contact damage is one of the most frequent sources of claims. This head of cover protects the Member against liability for loss of or damage to fixed and floating objects such as docks, quays, buoys, cranes, pipelines and other port infrastructure, as well as any other property belonging to third parties, whether on board the entered ship or elsewhere.
3. Collision Liability to Ships
Where the entered ship collides with another vessel, the Member faces liability for damage to the other ship and her cargo, as well as potential liabilities for injury, pollution and wreck removal arising out of the collision. This cover responds to those liabilities, including the proportion of collision liability that is customarily not covered under the ship’s hull policy, and any excess collision liability above the hull policy limit.
4. Removal of Wreck
When a ship becomes a wreck, coastal authorities will almost always require its removal, and the costs involved can be enormous – frequently exceeding the value of the ship itself. This cover responds to the costs of raising, removing, destroying, lighting or marking the wreck of an entered ship, where such removal is compulsory by law or where the costs are legally recoverable from the Member.
5. Pollution
Pollution liability is among the most heavily regulated and financially significant exposures in modern shipping. The cover responds to liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses arising from the discharge or escape of oil or any other polluting substance from the entered ship, including clean-up and preventive measures, liabilities to third parties, and fines where recoverable under the club rules. Our team is experienced in responding to pollution incidents worldwide and in coordinating with authorities, correspondents and clean-up contractors from the first hours of a casualty.
6. Liability to Cargo
Cargo claims are the most frequent claims faced by shipowners in day-to-day trading. This cover responds to the Member’s liability for loss, shortage, damage or other responsibility in respect of cargo carried on board the entered ship, whether the claim arises under the bill of lading, the charterparty or the applicable international convention.
7. Contracts of Indemnity or Guarantee
In the ordinary course of trading, shipowners are frequently required to give indemnities and guarantees – to terminals, towage providers, heavy-lift contractors and others. This cover responds to liabilities assumed under approved contracts and indemnities entered into in connection with the operation of the entered ship.
8. Unrecoverable General Average
Where a general average act occurs, the ship bears its own proportion of the sacrifice and expenditure. This cover responds to the ship’s proportion of general average, special charges or salvage which is not recoverable under the hull policy by reason of the ship being insured for less than her sound value.
9. Fines
Ships and their owners are exposed to fines from courts, customs, immigration and port authorities across every jurisdiction in which they trade. The cover responds to fines imposed on the Member in respect of the operation of the ship, including those relating to customs, immigration, pollution and safety regulations, where covered under the club rules.
A Partnership, Not Just a Policy
P&I insurance is a long-term relationship. Our underwriters take the time to understand each Member’s fleet, trade and risk profile, and our claims team is available 24 hours a day to respond to casualties and disputes wherever they occur. When you enter your ships with us, you gain not only financial protection but also a partner with the experience and the global network to protect your interests in every port in the world.
Why Work With Us
As a specialist marine insurance provider, we combine deep technical knowledge with a genuinely commercial outlook. Our Members benefit from competitive and transparent terms, cover that is tailored to their actual trading pattern rather than a one-size-fits-all wording, and a team that is available around the clock, every day of the year. We measure our success not by the policies we issue, but by the problems we solve for our Members – quickly, quietly and cost-effectively.
Get in Touch
If you would like to learn more about our Owner P&I Insurance, request a quotation, or simply discuss your current insurance arrangements with an expert, our underwriting team would be delighted to hear from you. Contact us today by phone or e-mail, or complete the enquiry form on our contact page, and one of our specialists will come back to you within one business day. There is no obligation, and every enquiry is handled in strict confidence.