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P&I" stands for "protection and indemnity" and is the reimbursement ("indemnity") and defence ("protection") for the shipowner's liability and some non-commercial losses arising from the operation of a ship. This class of insurance is distinct and separate from hull insurance, loss of hire/freight insurance, disbursements insurance, strike insurance, war risk insurance or defence cover (i.e. freight, demurrage & defence/legal expenses insurance). The reason most shipowners and many charterers - irrespective of the area and trade their vessel is engaged in - have such insurance cover is because:
P&I ensures a financial safety net
P&I provides additional help in dealing with claimants and loss opponents
P&I makes more powerful in balancing fortuitous hardships.
The present P&I Clubs are the remote descendants of the many small hull insurance Clubs that were formed by British shipowners in the 18th century. These were set up by groups of shipowners, drawn in each case from a small geographical area, who were dissatisfied with the scope and cost of the hull insurance then provided by the two companies who had been granted in 1720 a statutory monopoly which excluded other companies from such business, namely the Royal Exchange Assurance and the London Assurance, and by individuals operating in London from, for example, Lloyd's Coffee House. These hull Clubs were essentially unincorporated associations or co-operatives of shipowners who came together to share with each other their hull risks on a mutual basis, each being at the same time an insured and an insurer of others - still the basic concept of the present P&I Clubs, despite the fact that they are now incorporated so that in law it is the Club and not the individual Members who provide the insurance.
Those having such insurance have it either from mutual insurance associations (called mostly "P&I Clubs") or from insurance companies.
After the removal in 1824 of the company monopoly in favour of the Royal Exchange and the London Assurance, greater competition had a salutary effect on the rates, terms of cover and service offered by the commercial market and by Lloyd's underwriters. The hull Clubs became less necessary and went into decline. For example, at the time, the usual cover for claims by other ships and their cargo for damage caused in collision excluded one fourth of such damage, as a matter of principle, and was limited to the insured value of the ship. As the values of cargoes rose, cargo owners and cargo insurers became more intent on recovering their losses from shipowners. The steadily increased burden of legal and contractual liabilities towards third parties coupled together with their growing awareness of the inadequacy of the insurance cover that they did have, led shipowners to create new mutual insurance associations.
The need sprang partly from the steady increase from the middle of the 19th century onwards in the burden upon British shipowners of liabilities to third parties. It became more usual for injured crew members to seek compensation from their employers, and claims by dependants of crew members who were killed were facilitated by Lord Campbell's Act of 1846. The possibility of claims by passengers was greatly increased by the same Act and by the vast numbers of passengers who constituted the flood of emigrants to North America and Australia in the second half of the century. Shipowners needed cover against these risks. They were also becoming increasingly aware of the inadequacy of the insurance cover that they did have in respect of damage caused by their ships in collisions with other ships. The usual cover for claims by other ships and their cargo for damage caused in collision excluded altogether one fourth of such damage and, more seriously, was limited in amount (apparently the maximum recovery under the policy, including both damage to the insured ship and liability for the damage it had caused, was the insured value of the ship).
Eventually, in 1855, the first protection association was formed. This was the Shipowners' Mutual Protection Society, the predecessor of the Britannia P&I Club. It was intended to operate like a mutual hull club, but to cover liabilities for loss of life and personal injury and also the collision risks excluded from the current marine policies, particularly the excess above the limits in those policies. Other similar associations were formed.
Defensive cover for the risk of liability for loss of or damage to cargo carried on board an insured ship was first offered by a so-called "Protection Club" in 1874. the risk of liability for loss of or damage to cargo carried on board the insured ship was first added to the cover provided by a protection Club. The values of cargoes had risen and cargo underwriters had become keener on recovering their losses from shipowners, in which they were encouraged by a somewhat more sympathetic approach by the courts. Thereafter, many of these Clubs added an "indemnity class" to provide the necessary real financial reimbursement for such liabilities. Today the distinction between "protection" and "indemnity", the two elements of such liability insurance cover, has virtually disappeared within P&I Insurance.
Over the past few years the P&I Insurance world has seen some dramatic changes. Although the traditional English and Scandinavian P&I Clubs formed their own International Group of P&I Clubs (controlling more than 90% of the worldwide ocean going tonnage), ship-owners have again rebelled against their continuing financial exposure. In response, "fixed premium" insurance facilities have been created by insurance companies or groups of insurance companies. One of the first ones was The British Marine.
The British European and Overseas P&I (BE&O P&I) successfully entered into fixed premium P&I market in 2007. BE&O P&I now offers similar international cover as International Group of P&I Clubs, but at fixed costs. Its fixed premiums are in stark contrast to the traditional "Club" system of Advance Calls at the beginning of the policy year, Supplementary Calls charged during the following policy year in arrear (once the additional claims and costs and the cash demand for the year have become clear) and often very high Release Calls upon leaving the Club.
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