You could consider RaetsMarine as a mere underwriter of marine liability insurance. We literally go the distance in rendering this service. We manage marine liability insurance capacity with first class and transparent financial security at fixed premiums. You can call us into action from anywhere in the world. We have a correspondent in every port where merchant ships go. The underwriting and claims teams at our headquarters in Rotterdam, and the teams in our branch offices in Paris, London and Singapore, are run by people who have a firm grasp of their business. They guarantee that your insurance cover exactly meets your requirements.

So far so good. These are the facts, the firm aspects of our business. If this is what you expect from a marine insurance underwriter, you are hereby sufficiently informed.

There is, however, one fact that we believe is so important that it will dominate the rest of our story:

"we are responsible for the performance under an insurance policy"

We believe that our main concern at RaetsMarine is not only the fact that your financial security is warranted, but also how it is performed. It is of the utmost importance that we are able to give immediate response, that we create solutions where needed and that we make firm agreements. Our organization plays a very decisive role in this somewhat unseen process.

The quality of insurance cover
 

In reality it costs much more to run a genuine insurance cover than just a cosmetic facility. RaetsMarine works exclusively with first class security at fixed premiums together with all the infrastructure of risk management, loss prevention and claims servicing. We do this because we fully understand that the liabilities of Charterers are more complex and need to be closely monitored. We are therefore delighted to work together with Amlin Corporate Insurance N.V. as our exclusive risk carrier. Their S&P ‘A-‘ rating together with our triple-AAA service security is offering Charterers the best security and services available in the market.

The quality of fixed premiums and comprehensive insurance package

Unlike the P. & I. mutual Clubs, who may impose general increases and supplementary calls, we at RaetsMarine offer our clients ‘fixed premiums’ and each and every account is judged on its own record and performance. The rate reflects the risk, that’s it.

Unlike some other Charterers Liability facilities, such as at Lloyds, we at RaetsMarine offer our clients a ‘comprehensive insurance package’, which is tailored to the clients’ needs. Besides liability coverage, we can offer marine defence (F.D. & D.) coverage, cargo owners’ legal liability insurance and other insurances, such as bunker-, freight-, war- and S.O.L. insurance.

If Charterers are entered in a socalled I.G.A. (International Group) P. & I. Club, they should consider the following consequences:

1. A P. & I. Club is primarily for shipowners. By statute a P. & I. Club can only accept a limited amount of fixed premium business. It seems logical to say that Charterers will always come in second place.

2. There is an apparent conflict of interest if the Charterer and the chartered vessel are insured by the same P. & I. Club

3. The policy wording of a P. & I. Club is based on the Club Rules and is totally focused on the Shipowner and mutuality. Due to the mutual structure of a P. & I. Club the rules are both complex and subject to uncertainties, especially for Charterers, because in many places the cover is discretionary and subject to approval by the management of the P. & I. Club and its Board of (Shipowners)Directors.

4. The Board of Directors of any P. & I. Club consists of Shipowners, not Charterers

5. The rules of a P. & I. Club do not cover the Charterers’ liability for damages to the vessel. A. P. & I. Club must therefore offer a separate ‘insurance market’ policy to complete the risks to be covered for Charterers. On this damage to hull cover the P. & I. Club acts as a mere agent and obviously it makes the total cover required more expensive and more complex.

All the P. & I. Clubs have made ISM and ISPS compliance a condition of cover, which means that all Charterers entries are also subject to this obligation, which is unfair to a Charterer, simply because the Charterer has no actual control over ISM/ISPS compliance by the Shipowner.

The quality of claims service

We work under conditions in which circumstances can change in a flash, in which decisions must be made very quickly. Our claims team - most of them enjoy an excellent track record in shipping and insurance - follow every movement of your claim or dispute and give support when and where necessary. We call it "hands-on steering".

Many costly claims and disputes arise out of inadvertently imprecise drafting of clauses in Charter Parties, Bills of Lading and other shipping contracts. We encourage you to contact us about the drafting and checking of proforma Charter Parties or other contracts. It may also happen that you wish our advice about a contract or a clause, whilst you are still negotiating a contract.

We act as ‘consulting detectives’. As such we are mirroring the magnificent talents of Sherlock Holmes. We take nothing for granted, we will never stop investigating, we will leave nothing to chance to unravel our clients’ cases.

The quality of communication and collective knowledge

According to RaetsMarine, investing in people and materials also means investing in communications - in human as well as in technical terms. Because the entire world is our workplace, we must always attempt to bridge the gaps in language, time and cultures. To begin with, there's the contact with you - our client. Communication between you and us occurs directly, by phone or email or passes through our network of brokers and correspondents.

Automation and computerization is a never-ending process in which we invest much time and money in order to maintain our advantage. Through our data systems we have immediate access to all underwriting and claims information.

We further distinguish our position as specialist marine insurance underwriters by separating

Through our Support Desk Management we provide additional services in risk management and loss prevention. We make risk analysis, we manage information through our electronic library, we manage condition surveys and investigate risks on site, we educate young professionals through our in-house RaetsAcademy, we manage the client relation to understand their needs and requirements, we research trends and make benchmark studies, we execute Service Level Management with our external experts (correspondents, surveyors, lawyers) and we manage Collective Knowledge between our own staff and in our service network to make sure all available knowledge is available and put together in case of casualties or emergencies.

The quality of our knowledge about your business

From reading the previous paragraphs, we hope that you have gained faith in our knowledge of your business. But you need more than that to be successful in marine insurance. Let us state this once again

"our responsibility is the performance under an insurance policy"

That means that we, as specialist marine underwriters, must know all about the Charterers' business. Every aspect has its own conditions, which we must always take into consideration. And, of course, it is also in our interest to avoid and minimize claims. Our people are available and ready to adapt to changing conditions and demands. Our service is always tailored to your requirements. You can see how well such a partnership works when you decide to use RaetsMarine for Charterers Liability.