It seemed appropriate that the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) elected war risk specialist Frederic Denefle as its new president at its annual conference last week.

This is because the conflict in Ukraine dominated discussion at the event.

While there was plenty of presentations on the facts and figures of the industry’s performance and the increasing role of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, the most immediate concern for the hundreds of marine underwriters who gathered in Chicago is how the war in Ukraine will play out — and at what cost.