General

In 2016, Chapter 8 had some new clauses added, see Cl. 8-2, Cl. 8-3, Cl. 8-5 and Cl. 8-6, whereas other clauses were amended and/or given a new placing, see Cl. 8-1, Cl. 8-4 and Cl. 8-7. The Commentary to all the clauses was rewritten, and this introduction to the Chapter was new.

In accordance with Nordic tradition and the Insurance Contract Acts of the Nordic countries, a marine insurance contract is a contract entered into between the insurer, cf. Cl. 1-1 litra (a), and the person effecting the insurance, cf. Cl. 1-1 litra (b). The term “the person effecting the insurance” is not a term commonly used outside the Nordic countries. If the person effecting the insurance enters into a marine insurance contract to insure his own vessel, he is both the person effecting the insurance and the assured, as this term has been defined in Cl. 1-1 litra (c), since he is “the party who is entitled under the insurance contract to compensation” in case of a casualty. In practice, this assured owner is often called the “principal assured”, but the term is not used in any of the clauses of the Plan.

The term “the assured” is defined in Cl. 1-1 litra (c) to make room for others than the “principal assured” to be included as assureds under the insurance contract. This is done by making use of the concept of co-insurance. There may be a number of reasons why the benefit of an insurance is extended to others. In many cases, the principal assured has committed himself to do so in a separate contract with a third party. The most common and practical case is that of the mortgagee. Here, the Plan’s Chapter 7 provides an automatic cover of the mortgagee’s interest under the insurance, making the mortgagee a co-insured party. As for other third parties, no automatic cover under the insurance will apply. For a third party to be given specific rights under the insurance, the insurance has to be explicitly effected for the benefit of that third party, cf. the Plan’s Chapter 8.

Chapter 8 is applicable to all co-insured third parties other than the mortgagees. The protection of contractual mortgagees is exhaustively regulated in Chapter 7, but the mortgagees may obtain an extended protection pursuant to Cl. 8-7, see further the Commentary to that Clause. The rules in Chapter 8 apply when a specific and explicit agreement is concluded to the effect that the insurance shall also apply for the benefit of one or more third parties other than the contractual mortgagees. The most frequently occurring example is in connection with insurance of MOUs, cf. Cl. 18-1 litra (i).

The mechanism of co-insurance of third parties is used for a variety of reasons in different contexts. The need for co-insurance may conveniently be divided into three issues:

Firstly, it can be used to cover what might be described as a “value interest”. Either a co-insured third party can have an interest in the economic value of the insured object, or in the income it produces. One example is the interest of the owner of equipment that is placed on board the vessel. This interest could be co-insured under the owner’s hull insurance, see Cl. 10-1 litra (b). Another example is owner’s supplies and stage payments, which can be co-insured under a builders’ risks insurance taken out by the yard, see Cl. 19-3, cf. Cl. 19-9. It is also feasible, although seldom done in practice, to insure the loss of income of both the owner and a time charterer under a single insurance contract. A less common example could be that a buyer of a vessel is co-insured under the owner’s (seller’s) insurance contract for a limited period, e.g. until the vessel is delivered. Since Cl. 3-21 provides that cover terminates when there is a change of ownership, such co-insurance of a buyer’s interest has to be arranged by special agreement. In bareboat charterparties, the bareboat charterer often has the duty to take out both hull and P&I insurance. The bareboat charterer is liable to redeliver the vessel in the same condition as when he took it over, but the charterparty terminates if the vessel becomes a total loss. In such a case, the hull insurance may protect both the charterer’s value interest in recovery for the cost of repairs of any damage incurred and the owner’s interest as he will be compensated for the value of the vessel in the event of a total loss.

Secondly, co-insurance can be used to cover a third party’s “liability interest”. Managers, charterers of various kinds and others can become directly liable to third parties who suffer loss as a consequence of a vessel’s operation. It is common practice to name managers of various types as co-insured, as they may have significant exposure to liabilities covered by different Plan insurances. Hull insurance under the Plan is a combined insurance as collision and striking liability for vessels is covered pursuant to Chapter 13 and for MOUs by Chapter 18, Section 2-4. Chapter 15 on war risks insurance, Cl. 15-2 litra (e) and Section 7, includes full scale P&I insurance against war risks. The same goes for coastal and fishing vessels, which have liability insurance cover by virtue of Chapter 17, Section 6. Liability insurance can also be purchased under the builders’ risks insurance in Chapter 19, Section 4. If co-insurance of a third party is agreed, Chapter 8 is applicable to all these liability schemes unless departed from as in Cl. 18-1 litra (i) or in the individual insurance contract.

Thirdly, the co-insurance can merely protect a third party from a subrogation claim by the insurer. The term “protective co-insurance” is sometimes used for this type of co-insurance. It refers to the situation where a third party is exposed to liability for loss of or damage to the insured object itself or where another assured might otherwise expose him to a claim. In such a case, the third party and the person effecting the insurance may agree to include the third party as a co-insured under the insurance. If the insurer has covered the loss to the assured, the status as co-insured would protect the third party against a possible subrogation claim from the insurer. Similarly, if the assured should elect to bring action against the third party instead of claiming under the insurance, the co-insured third party would be able to avail himself of the insurance cover. The central idea behind both situations is that the loss, damage or claim should rest with the insurer according to the insurance conditions, without him being able to seek recovery from or deny cover to the co-insured third party. In other words; the “protection” that is relevant differs from a co-insured’s liability interest because it is protection as between co-insureds based on some form of underlying contractual relationship, which in turn is recognised and accepted by the insurer.

Protective co-insurance of a third party may be combined with a “value interest” co-insurance or with a “liability interest” co-insurance, as these expressions are explained above. However, there are many cases where a co-insured third party will lack a real “value interest” or “liability interest”. An illustrative example is the manager of a vessel, who is often named as co-insured under the owner’s hull insurance, irrespective of the fact that he has no ownership interest and irrespective of whether the insurance contract includes collision liability. The benefit to the co-insured third party under Nordic law and under many other jurisdictions is that the insurer in such a case may not exercise rights of subrogation against the co-insured in order to claim reimbursement for losses or liabilities that the insurer has covered. The protective interest of the co-insured is central to the way contracts and insurance are organised under a knock for knock regime. There are many different variants of this type of contract. The core of the knock for knock principle is an agreement that each party will retain and insure the risk for damage to its own property as well as liability for death or injury of its own personnel, and obtain from their respective insurers co-insurance and often a waiver of subrogation in favour of the other contracting party. Cl. 8-2 is a default solution for all cases where the primary purpose of the co-insurance is to cover a “protective” interest in accordance with an underlying contract between the person effecting the insurance and the third party. Cl. 18-1 litra (i) contains more specific provisions for use in the case of MOUs, see also the Commentary to that provision.

The parties are free to enter into whatever co-insurance arrangements they think best serve their interests. However, it seems convenient to have a set of standard rules in the Plan as a point of departure. This should not discourage the parties from carefully considering the need for the various interests to be co-insured and carefully drawing up appropriate insurance clauses that match their underlying contractual arrangements. No standard rules on co-insurance can fit all the needs of the various parties doing business in the complex international shipping and offshore markets.

Print this page