AqualisBraemar’s Mark McGurran looks at the marine insurance market
What is your role in AqualisBraemar?
Group Managing Director, Marine. I run the global marine surveying and consultancy service offering for the company, ensuring clients’ needs are met, our standards are maintained and that we continue to innovate in the field.
We are entering an unprecedented year, but before we come to that, what were your main thoughts about 2019 in terms of the marine insurance market and marine sector in general?
2019 was a challenging year for the marine insurance market with several major fire losses on ships and superyachts, although the market seems to have bottomed out in 2019 and started to harden. Hardening markets prior to this COVID-19 situation resulted in increased requests for pre risk work (JH 143s, JH 2013s) etc. This leads to an improvement in shipboard and shipyard safety culture and risk awareness and should lead to a reduction in incidents and claims.
So back to 2020! How is the COVID-19 virus affecting the market and your team?
The current situation is, of course, unprecedented. Remote working for many insurers and service providers alike has quickly become the new norm. Marine insurance is a very personable business and we’re having to learn new ways to maintain our close client relationships and develop new ones. Of course, the available technology makes this possible and in some cases rather enjoyable – something that wouldn’t have been possible not so long ago.
How does AqualisBraemar’s global footprint support its clients at this time?
With our extensive global footprint, we are able to meet our clients’ needs with the minimum. This way we can service our clients’ needs to the required standards while adhering to local and WHO recommendations to protect our staff, our clients, the seafarers and the communities that we live and work in. We can also provide this work promptly and cost-effectively utilising this global footprint.
What are the benefits of a physical attendance by a surveyor in these days of apps and virtual support?
Physical attendance where possible is of paramount importance, especially for larger losses; no technology has yet been invented that can effectively replace the basics. The intuition and senses of an impartial, experienced surveyor are the best means to protect our clients’ interests. We have found that even if we can’t get on board, a great deal can be learned by going to the port and meeting the crew involved at a safe distance and discussing the incident with them.
What are the dangers of allowing seafarers to provide casualty reports themselves via such apps?
Human nature leads to understandable bias when self-reporting on incidents, especially where those incidents have led to large financial damages or losses and/or the reporting crew member might feel they are to blame. This bias, unconscious or otherwise, often leads to critical elements of evidence being missed, or to the most effective repair options being overlooked. Without independent, thorough and impartial root cause investigations, the opportunity to prevent future losses will be missed.
What should clients do next?
If our clients have any pre or post risk requirements, they should feel free to contact us at any time. Our 24/7 emergency contact number (+44 20 3142 4350) remains fully manned and our clients are also very welcome to contact our personnel directly. Some additional useful contact numbers are listed below:
Mark McGurran — Global
mark.mcgurran@aqualisbraemar.com
+44 7909 252967
John Walker — Americas
john.walker@aqualisbraemar.com
+1 (917) 392 0463
Paul Hill — Europe & Africa
paul.hill@aqualisbraemar.com
+44 7711 489246
Pat Cannie — Middle East & India
pat.cannie@aqualisbraemar.com
+971 50 645 5968
Graeme Temple — Asia Pacific
graeme.temple@aqualisbraemar.com
+65 9624 9641
Steve McCarthy — Global
steve.mccarthy@aqualisbraemar.com
+44 7580 199230