The word “Underwriting” refers to protection by way of insurance. Marine underwriting refers to providing marine insurance to clients.
The person who provides marine underwriting services is known as a marine underwriter. These are professionals whose main expertise is to ensure that their client is protected from unforeseen losses and casualties. They offer insurance coverage for boats, ships and naval assets and provide a valuation for the ship, crew and cargo being transported.
Marine underwriting is a very tricky concept. This is because there are many different dimensions to it. The loss to the body or hull of the ship and the cargo it contained, the reasons or the causes of the loss, the place where the loss occurred and most importantly the amount that needs to be settled are the main areas that a marine underwriter needs to focus on.
It is a well-known fact that insurance claims are very uncertain and there needs to be a complete knowledge of all the elements involved before placing a compensation claim.
A marine underwriter therefore needs to be aware of not just the rules and regulations of the country to which the ship belongs but also of other countries where potential incidents could occur.
To explain it in simple terms, the maritime rules and regulations of all countries need to be noted down by a marine underwriter so that clients do not face any problems regarding the settlement of the claim.
To make the process of marine underwriting simple and feasible, many professional marine underwriting companies have been founded in many countries. Some of the famous companies include the Chubb Group and the United Marine Underwriters firm.
Additionally, it has to be noted that in some countries there are associations of marine underwriters set up to gain more exposure and experience through a group effort.
Such associations are present in countries like the United States. Examples of such marine underwriting associations would be the Association of Marine Underwriters (this is based in San Francisco) and the American Institute of Marine Underwriters, also known as the AIMU (this is an association based throughout the nation).
These organisations ensure their clients can rely on them and that the professionals engaged in marine underwriting get to learn more. It is a very interactive concept and the success of such organisations proves the scope and spread of marine underwriting.
Marine underwriting is not a new profession but has existed for ages. For people who aspire to be experts in unique areas, a career as a marine underwriter would be worthwhile.
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