Hemraj Sewbalas
Freight Trading Weekly
October 2001
Following the sequence of terrible events which took place on the 11th September 2001 it will come as no surprise to learn that the global insurance and re-insurance markets have been thrown into turmoil.
The burning question is, would your Insurers have paid you for the loss of your cargo on the plane that crashed into WTC in NY, bearing in mind that this was an act of terrorism?
It is standard practice that most marine insurance policies incorporate the Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo) which covers inter alia "any terrorist or person acting from a political motive" and excludes "loss damage or expense caused by war, civil war, rebellion, insurrection or civil strife arising there from, or any hostile act by or against a belligerent power".
The fact that this cover is provided for in the singular, ie. "terrorist or person" with the exclusion attempting to clarify intention, results in a grey area. As a country we have come from a past of terrorist activity. A Durban client presented Insurers with a claim for loss/damage to cargo resulting from an act of terrorism. Insurers repudiated the claim on the basis of the act having been perpetrated by SWAPO (an organisation ) and consequently there was no cover in terms of the Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo). Unfortunately there does not appear to be any legal precedent and the issue remains as grey as ever.
Eikos Risk Applications, a leading independent Marine Risk Management Consultancy, has since its inception ensured that its products NAVIGATE (for Cargo Owners) and NAVLOS (for Freight Operators) covered not just acts of TERRORISM (categorically) but included the risks of CONFISCATION, EXPROPRIATION, NATIONALISATION AND DEPRIVATION, at no additional cost. These products boast the following advantages:
- lowest possible premiums
- claims settlement guaranteed in 48 hours
- widest possible policy wording
Many years of practical experience was invested in the design by the NERVE CENTRE, based in Durban, of these innovative Products. The focus in the design revolved, in the main, around losses encountered by clients that were traditionally not covered by marine insurance policies which resulted, at the inception of our business, with the widest possible policy wording.
Eikos Durban specifically has grown income by 63% which certainly is an endorsement of the features and benefits of both products NAVIGATE and NAVLOS.
This article is reproduced with the permission of the publisher.
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