In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster off the coast of Tuscany, Intelligent Insurer asks whether marine profitability has only just become a sinking ship, or whether it has always been swimming with the fishes.
While the debate rages on over the circumstances that led to the Costa Concordia’s running aground off the coast of Tuscany, it has become clear that the costs, both human and financial, are likely to be high. Fatalities are in double figures and insured loss estimates range from $500 million to $1 billion.
Yet should losses for the entire insurance industry in 2012 be similar to those in 2011, the Costa Concordia disaster alone could account for between 0.5 and 1 percent of the total insured loss for the year. Marine has always been a tough industry and marine underwriters have had to be skilful in picking their covers.
In the past, this has meant that they were highly venerated within their companies, or so argues independent marine insurance consultant Sam Ignarski.
Insurance, Reinsurance, Marine, Litmus Analysis
