Stormy weather could not spoil the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI)’s welcome party for its annual event in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle.
Marine underwriters put on a brave face amid the wind, rain and shivering temperatures of a Scottish autumn evening to take in the historic setting.
Law firm HFW came out as a winner. It had the foresight to sponsor an umbrella in the event’s welcome pack. “I am keeping you all dry,” said HFW partner Richard Neylon when he addressed the conference later in the week to talk about the more serious matter of ships caught in Ukraine.
The mood of the event was generally upbeat, with figures indicating that marine insurance premium increased 8% last year while loss ratios fell.
IUMI president Frederic Denefle said the industry is in a good position to cope with coming geopolitical and economic challenges.
“As the world’s oldest insurance business, our sector has demonstrated its ability to flex to new needs and conditions, both market and macroeconomic,” he said.
He predicted a more localised approach to marine insurance would adapt to an increasingly fractured trade and rates would be adjusted for higher inflation.
Denefle expects to see “the emergence of local teams underwriting local business in their own areas to challenge fragmentation; an adjustment of market capacities and pricing to fight inflation pressures; and the creation of specialist teams to fully understand the implications of new technologies”.
Ilias Tsakiris, chair of the hull committee, warned that inflationary pressures could spoil the party.
He sees storm clouds of an economic kind on the horizon for underwriters.
“In the main, the underwriting community has not applied inflationary increases to the premium base and this may lead to a reduction in overall profitability over the coming year or two,” he said.
