Following a maritime casualty, insurers will frequently instruct the policyholder to “act as if prudent uninsured” i.e. the owner should make the same decisions as if no insurance policy is in place and as if the costs are for owners’ account. However this can lead to confusion, and differences in opinion between insurers and shipowners, when commercial issues intrude and an owner needs to get the ship back trading as soon as possible.

This International Underwriting Association (IUA) Market Briefing aims to examine the time-honoured phrase and how satisfactorily it provides guidance to ship owners in the commercial environment.

The Speaker: Nigel Rogers is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Fellow of the Association of Average Adjusters, having been Chairman during 2005/07. With over 40 years’ experience in marine claims, Nigel has dealt with all types of marine risks including shipyards, yachts, liabilities, cargo etc as well as ocean-going hull. He has served on various insurance market committees and is the co-author of A Guide to Marine Hull Insurance Claims.