DGS Marine, a leading global P&I management provider and exclusive manager for the British European and Overseas (BE&O) P&I facility, has held the first BE&O P&I Seminar in Limassol, Cyprus.
Hosted by Captain Andreas Efthimiades, Head of DGS Marine’s Cyprus office and Director of Claims, the seminar was attended by delegates from Cyprus’ shipping and insurance community, with the goal of providing them with a better understanding of some of the most topical and important P&I-related issues.
The agenda for the day covered an array of challenging topics, including charter party disputes and NYPE Clause 8, the future of General Average, issues surrounding the Commencement of Laytime and the challenges of securing ‘Places of Refuge’ for vessels in distress.
Presentations were delivered by external speakers and by DGS Marine’s in-house experts, including Franky George, In-House Group Counsel and Senior Claims Executive in DGS Marine’s London office, who provided an overview of the BE&O P&I facility and the merits of fixed premium P&I cover. Ms. George explained to delegates that fixed premium cover has emerged as a direct response to the shortcomings of the mutual model offered by the IG Clubs, which imposes retrospective premium calls and high release calls, at a time when ship owners require more cost control and transparency than ever before. By contrast, fixed premium P&I cover provides owners with complete certainty of their costs, combined with renewals that are based on individual claim records and no release calls.
Speaking after the seminar, David Skinner, Group Managing Director of DGS Marine, said: “We understand how challenging the P&I market can be for those that aren’t insurance experts. Our goal is to share our insight into some of the most important topics in today’s marine insurance market and provide our customers and colleagues in Cyprus with the knowledge that they need to manage the risks they face and find the right solutions for their businesses.
“There were plenty of insights for delegates to take away from our seminar, but one of the key lessons was the importance of taking great care to check the wording of any agreement between owners and charterers, to understand the precise implications of all clauses and to stay abreast of all relevant case law.
“Another common theme was the critical importance of technical knowledge in the handling of insurance claims, the value of sound evidence and the value of technical expertise and maritime experience in the collection of that evidence. This is one of the reasons why the DGS Marine team included a number of in-house maritime experts, including master mariners and naval architects. We know how much our customers appreciate the fact that we speak the same language as them.”
DGS Marine is a leading provider of fixed premium P&I cover and achieved a 19% growth in premiums during the 2013/14 policy year. This included a 22% premium growth in the Middle East and a 35% increase in the Far East, especially in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. This significant growth in the fixed premium P&I market was driven by ship owners and operators looking to secure greater certainty, transparency and control over their insurance costs.
