Maria Prevezanou had plenty to feel good about when she opened the doors to the 19th International Protection and Indemnity Conference in Piraeus in January.

She was well on her way to completing February’s annual round of P&I insurance renewals for a healthy book of clients that reads like a who’s who of Greek shipowners.

Sitting around the table at the conference were 12 of the 13 members of the International Group of P&I Clubs that had accepted Prevezanou’s invitation to attend.

“If you are not superstitious, we will invite the Japan Club next year and make it 13,” she told the packed house.

The popularity of the event partly reflects Prevezanou’s pulling power as organiser and one of the most familiar faces in the world of Greek marine insurance.

It is 15 years since she split from former business partner Maria Kouliga to go it alone. The pair were known as the two Marias, but suddenly Prevezanou was faced with the prospect of running her new business, Evmar Marine Services, as a solo act after the two decided to go their separate ways, reportedly over differences in business style and approach.

It is a job she clearly enjoys. Her business covers most areas of marine insurance, but she has a soft spot for P&I.

“I think this job is hard, there are long hours, but I like it because it is not routine. As a person I like a challenge and dealing with people. And in P&I every day there is a new challenge, like a new claim to deal with, and each one is different, so you never stop learning.”

Prevezanou is known as one of the more successful women brokers in the world of marine insurance. She admits it is often difficult in a male-dominated industry: “It can be tough. Sometimes you have to say something two or three times before it is accepted. But if you’re a man, you only need to say it once.”

However, she puts “hard work” and “honesty” high on the list of attributes that make a successful marine insurance broker, whether male or female.

“You have to be true to yourself to be good at the job,” she adds. “It really comes down to if you like your job, if you can apply logic and you can keep up your relationships.”

Despite having a job she loves, it was never Prevezanou’s ambition to work in marine insurance.

She was raised in South Africa and joined a brokerage after returning to Greece. Greece ended up being her home and marine insurance her profession. “I didn’t plan my career very well, it happened accidentally,” she reflects.

The P&I policy renewal has been particularly difficult this year. Almost all the clubs have been attempting to raise premiums at a difficult time financially for owners.

“It always seems to be that when freight rates collapse, hull and machinery, P&I and war risk rates seem to rise,” she says.

The week she spoke to TW+, tanker and bulk freight rates fell dramatically. There also seemed to be a growing list of problems for owners to handle — coronavirus, sanctions, environmental regulations.

With all this to consider, her clients, naturally, are not keen on paying higher insurance rates. As she puts it, “Everyone is expecting a miracle.” Her job is to argue their case, but also to manage expectations.

“Each club is owned by the shipowners and it is the shipowners that vote yes or no for an increase. It is not easy for a broker to argue against this,” she says. “But each account has its own merits and claims record, so it is up to the broker to sit down and discuss things. There is always a solution.”

Her thoughts are already turning to next year’s 20th anniversary International P&I Conference. The event is always held in January at the Piraeus Marine Club, where Prevezanou is treasurer.

The combination of a light-hearted tone, set by a customary joke from American Club chief executive Joe Hughes, and an at-times feisty debate has made it a popular event.

She is pleased with the way it is growing. “It’s going extremely well. We are the only event which has 12 out of the 13 clubs attending. We have good, active floor discussions and there were a lot of young people in the audience, which shows the younger generation is getting more interested.”

The only problem is the topics rarely change — reflecting, perhaps, a P&I market that itself has not changed much in 150 years.

“We’ve been repeating ourselves — and I think we will end up repeating ourselves next year again,” Prevezanou jokes.

TW+

Maria Prevezanou: The accidental insurance broker