IUMI President: Marine insurers are war insurers

Marine insurers sit at the center of managing war risks for global shipping and must keep improving the tools that let trade continue under heightened tensions, said International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) President Frédéric Denèfle. Speaking at the IUMI conference in Rotterdam, Denèfle addressed a common misunderstanding: war risk cover is not automatically cancelled when a conflict begins. He explained that when risk increases sharply, some insurers may issue a Notice of Cancellation to reassess exposure, but the cover can then be reinstated on adjusted terms. Underwriters also need more voyage-specific information for war risk underwriting than for conventional insurance, including trading and transit areas, time spent in high-risk zones and cargo load/discharge timing. He noted that cargo cover is often offered on a per-contract basis. Even with naval escorts, insurers cannot assume protection will be available for every transit.