Inequities in marine insurance

There are few internationally agreed rules for marine insurance. Each market uses either its own insurance policy terms and conditions or adopts or amends those of another leading market drawn up by insurers without formalized consultation with the assured. Inconsistent application of international insurance conventions is aggravated by delays in compliance. There has been a fairly consistent bias favouring shipowners in regard to loss and damage to goods. Broadly speaking, shipowners are able to claim exemptions from liability to compensate shippers for loss, damage or delay to goods without proving that they took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the loss. Also the monetary limitation of liability does not account for inflation. Treatment of cargo claims and settlements is unordered, flowing from a regime in whose formulation shippers and shipowners from all countries did not participate on an equal footing.