Marsh Introduces Maritime Security Facility

Marsh has launched a new insurance facility to provide comprehensive insurance coverage for private maritime security companies.

The broker and risk manager developed the facility to support the requirements of the London-based Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI). The new insurance facility meets the insurance recommendations stipulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and is available exclusively to SAMI members.

The core package provides coverage across five areas: public liability, professional indemnity, maritime employers’ liability, employers’ liability, and personal accident. Coverages such as kidnap and ransom, hull and machinery, and enhanced limits of liability are available in some cases.

“The insurance industry has failed to keep pace with the rapid development of the maritime security sector,” said Nick Roscoe, a managing director in Marsh’s Global Marine Practice. “Many policies have been ‘borrowed’ from other industries and knitted together to provide cover with little thought of PMSCs’ specific needs in mind.

Roscoe said that Marsh’s new facility addresses the common insurance requirements of all PMSCs, while lending itself to the personal growth ambitions of individual organizations.

“The private maritime security industry will play an increasingly important role in ensuring safety on the seas, filling the gap left by the anticipated reduction of many national naval fleets,” said Peter Cook, director and founder of SAM. “Marsh has consulted with SAMI in the creation of this innovative new facility, which is capable of providing effective insurance protection to our members and giving ship owners the assurances they need.”