• provides cover against marine perils
• insurance against loss of cargo
• ship insurance covered by multiple insurers
• insurance market is broker dominated
• ship owner insures (war risk etc.)
• up to 20 insurers on one policy
• P&I only 1 insurer for whole risk
• Machinery Breakdown Insurance
• if insurance could not be offered world trade would collapse (because ships and commodities are finance and in every loan agreement is a stipulation that there needs to be a valid insurance policy in place)
• need insurance for finance
• machinery and cargo insurance are not mandatory

On Friday, the US Treasury had sanctioned Russian oil producing giants Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, while also imposing sanctions on insurers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie Group.¹⁾

Israel: Insurance companies don’t reimburse for assets lost in an “act of war,” so Mr. Freibach applied for government assistance.(WSJ 2024)

These ships have to make much longer voyages, though, and during the winter Russia was short of ice-class tankers able to navigate the Baltic. They use Russian insurance, which is of doubtful validity and capacity in case of a major accident.

Insurance for ships heading to Russia’s Black Sea ports currently costs tens of thousands of dollars in additional premiums daily, the three sources said, with rates ticking higher following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s other waterways through the Danube in recent days and Kyiv’s response.