Commentary

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Clause 6-4. Additional premium when the insurance is extended

Sub-clause 1 must be viewed in connection with the right to an extension of the insurance period.
The provision is of significance in relation to both hull insurance and the separate insurance for total loss, cf. reference to the hull insurance rules in Cl. 14-3.

If, after arriving in port, the vessel turns out to be condemnable, an insurer who is not liable for the total loss will not be liable for new casualties occurring after the casualty which caused the total loss, cf. sub-clause 11-9, sub-clause 1. In cases such as this, the insurer may only demand a premium for the time up to the casualty, cf. the Commentary on Cl. 6-3. There can accordingly be no question of extending the insurance.

Under Cl. 11-9, sub-clause 2, the insurer who is liable for the total loss shall cover all collision liability occurring after the casualty but before compensation is paid and which falls under the hull insurer's liability pursuant to the rules in Chapter 13. In this case, however, the insurance will not be “extended pursuant to Cl. 10-10”, cf. sub-clause 1 of This Clause, and the insurer cannot demand a separate premium for this liability cover. As soon as it is discovered that the vessel is condemnable, it is clear that the insurer who is liable for the total loss is to receive a full year's premium, cf. Cl. 6-3, sub-clause 1. The liability of the other insurers is deemed to have lapsed as at the time of the casualty.

Sub-clause 2 regulates the entitlement of the insurer to a premium when it is not known at the expiry of the insurance period whether the assured will be entitled to claim compensation for total loss under the rules in Cl. 11-2, sub-clause 2, Cl. 11-7 and Cl. 15-11. The wording “at the expiry of the insurance period” must in this case be interpreted as meaning the expiry of the agreed insurance period regardless of whether it has been agreed that the insurance period is to attach for one year or for more than one year, compare Cl. 1-5, sub-clause 4, which explicitly mentions the provisions under which a multi-year insurance contract shall be divided up into one-year periods. The present provision is not included. If, at the expiry of the insurance period, the vessel is stranded, but the insurer wishes to avail himself of the right to attempt to salvage it pursuant to Cl. 11-2, sub-clause 1, no premium shall be paid as long as it is not known whether the salvage attempt will be successful. If the vessel is salvaged before expiry of the deadline, it will normally have sustained damage that would make the extension rules in Cl. 10-10 applicable. The premium will then begin to run again from the time the assured “gained control of the vessel”, which in this situation will mean that it has been re-floated and can commence moving to a repair yard. If, however, it turns out that the vessel is condemnable, the rules set out in the preceding sub-clause will have to be applied.

Under Cl. 11-7 and Cl. 15-11, the assured may claim compensation for total loss upon expiry of certain specified time periods when the vessel has disappeared, been abandoned by the crew or been taken from the assured. If, at the expiry of the insurance period, it is not known whether compensation for total loss will be claimed under one of these rules, all payment of premiums is to cease. If compensation for total loss is subsequently paid, the settlement of premiums must take place along the lines described above pertaining to a case of condemnation.

Even though the time limit under one of the above-mentioned sub-clauses has expired, the assured may, however, still keep the issue of compensation open if, due to economic factors, he prefers to have the vessel back rather than receive total loss compensation. This will be particularly relevant in wartime. If the vessel is found before the assured has claimed compensation for total loss, the insurance shall under Cl. 11-8 be extended until the vessel has reached port, and the rules in Cl. 10-10 shall apply after that. Under the present clause, sub-clause 2, the premium will begin to run again from the time the assured, or someone on his behalf, gains control of the vessel.

If the vessel becomes a total loss after it has been found but before the extended insurance extension has expired, the insurer may not demand a new, full year's premium. What the insurer may claim pursuant to Cl. 6-3 in the event of total loss is the entire "agreed premium", but an extension of insurance does not imply any agreement on insurance for a new insurance year. In this case, an additional premium shall only be paid for the period as of when the assured gained control of the vessel until it was lost.