Protection and indemnity market rebounds, despite record claims incurred

The protection and indemnity insurance market, which provides shipowners with marine legal liability coverage, nearly broke even despite facing a record year for claims incurred, reported Willis.The P&I market as a whole reported an underwriting deficit of 1% for the 2009-10 financial year. The result was achieved against the highest levels of claims in the market’s history, with a 12.5% increase in total incurred claims on 2008-09, Willis said in its P&I Market Review 2010/2011.Investment income in the P&I market bounced back to $680 million in 2009-10 after record losses cost the market $840 million in 2008-09.”After one of the worst years on record, the P&I market made a spectacular comeback in 2009-10, with total assets and free reserves representing all-time-record highs for the International Group,” said Ben Abraham, the leader of Willis’ P&I division.”In contrast to the positive news, claims are similarily at an all-time high, worryingly not due to a surge in very large claims, but to the increasing cost of more routine claims.”