Page 2 - Marine Insurance IC67 EBOOK
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MARINE INSURANCE
Marine insurance is the oldest form of insurance a) Export and import shipment, including sending
originating from England. Merchants from by Air and Registered post, b) Goods in transit
different parts of London used to assemble in a by rail and/or Road, Air and post, c) Coastal
coffee house (Lloyd’s Coffee House) which gave Shipment by steamers and d) Shipment by smaller
birth to Lloyds Underwriters, contracting marine vessels in Indian waters or by country craft and
insurance cover with the owners of sea-going Inland vessels of different types.
vessels and merchants. Lloyd’s is now the
biggest international general insurance Hull insurance means the insurance of the
underwriter in the world. Shipowners and Hulls, Machinery, Materials and other ancillary
merchants are not legally bound to insure their interests of ocean going vessels of all types and
property against loss or damage, nor are they smaller Vessels, such as fishing vessels/
bound to insure against their liabilities to third trawlers, dredgers, tugs, salvage vessels,
parties but the modern method of financing, launches, ferry/steamers/boats Yatches and
trade and shipping leave them with little or no other pleasure crafts, dumb of self propelled
choice whatsoever. The capital exposed to loss barges, lighter crafts, iron cargo boats and other
in modern ships with gigantic properties is such country crafts.
that few shipping lines could or would, consider
it desirable to carry the involved risks themsel- Marine insurance policy is a legal document
ves. Moreover, a considerable amount of tonnage and apart from Marine Insurance Act it is also
is mortgaged to Banks and other financial governed by the Indian contract act. In
institutions, which obviously require insurance as International trade it stands as a collateral
co-lateral security. Now a days Marine policies security by the financial institutions. With its easy
are obligatory in most of the transactions. negotiability it may pass or change hand from
one hand to another even when the goods are in
Apart from the salient features of offer and mid sea.
acceptance, consideration, lawful object and
legal capacity of the insured, insurable interest Again, based on the period of cover, marine
in Marine Insurance may not exist at the time policies are divided into two groups viz, Time
of taking the cover but must exist at the time Policy and Voyage policy. In a time policy the
of loss. Marine Insurance can be broadly divided cover is for a fixed time i.e. say 12 months but
into two categories. in Voyage policy the cover is for the entire
1) Cargo Insurance. Voyage. Time policies are generally issued in the
form of open policy which covers each and every
2) Hull Insurance. despatch of goods made by the insured during
the term of the policy. The final premium and
Marine Cargo Insurance means insurance of
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