Marine Insurance: This is What You Need to Know Before You Get It

Marine insurance ensures that items are covered as they travel from their point of origin to their final destination.

Ships, cargo, terminals, and any other mode of transit by which products are transferred, acquired, or held between the places of origin and the final destination are covered by marine insurance.

Marine insurance, contrary to its name, covers all kinds of freight transportation.

The two primary branches of marine insurance are:

1. Ocean marine (mainly water-based exposures) and
2. Inland marine (mostly land-based exposures).

1. Hull Insurance – offers protection for physical damages to the boat or vessel along with its operating equipment, including machinery. This policy is applicable for all water vessels and limited to commercial-based ocean crafts. Barges, tugboats, oil rigs located offshore, floating equipment, and other similar installations can benefit from this type of insurance.

2. Cargo Insurance – provides coverage for physical damage to cargo that is conveyed or travelled as part of the shipment process. Depending on the chosen coverage, some policies offer theft protection or coverage for other forms of losses besides physical damage.

3. Marine Liability Insurance – also called P&I or protection and indemnity, this coverage offers protection for third-party liabilities that owners and corporations are exposed to during water operations. It includes coverage for injuries, illnesses, or even loss of life caused by vessel operation. Medical expenditures, damage to other vessels and cargo, collision incidents, and related expenses as a result of quarantine may also be covered.