A Safe Journey

Volatile weather over the past two years is forcing the marine and energy insurance industry to take a long, hard look at revamping its underwriting strategy. Current insurance programs and plans are inadequate and must be revised if the marine/energy industry is to remain viable. The marine insurance industry has to look a bit harder into risk selection, examine its aggregation methodology and involve the actuaries more heavily and evaluate models. Risk selection will be paramount in the Gulf of Mexico and marine insurers must look for proper aggregation of risk in including equipment spread across the eastern, central and western parts of the Gulf. Marine/energy underwriters, producers and risk managers need to reassess the entire cycle of business and decide how much exposure and what aggregate limit of liability is acceptable in a particular location.