Winds changing for insurance
As the oldest form of insurance, marine insurance dates back to the times of ancient Egyptian and Chinese merchants wanting to protect their trade routes against loss.
Australia's marine insurance industry has changed dramatically in the last 40-50 years.
Where it was once the largest line of general insurance, today it represents about 3 per cent of the general insurance market.
Much of its overall decline has been caused by substantial improvements in shipping, technology and cargo-handling practices, together with a rise in the consumer's desire for certain lines of insurance, such as household and motor vehicle.
Instead, we have highly sophisticated container ships, B double trucks, automated marine container terminals and computerised storage and distribution facilities with state-of-the-art technology, meaning supply chain management is generally extremely efficient and effective.
Indeed, it was our continuing strategy to be the leading provider of marine and transport insurance services in Australia and New Zealand that led us to develop our specialist product suite, including logistics operator liability insurance, port operator liability insurance and cargo handling facility liability insurance. Our understanding of the port and logistics industries and the insurance needs of operators was central to their development.
Equally, we have focused on building a port and logistics services team that has first class insurance expertise and is capable of providing specialist risk assessment and loss mitigation advice, claims management and contractual advisory services.
The process that led to the development of these market-leading products is an interesting study in commonsense.
When we look at Australia from a marine perspective, fundamentally, we are an island continent with a diverse and decentralised population base. We have huge distances between population centres and the majority of transport infrastructure is land based and not sea based.
It was here we first saw our opportunity to provide insurance for land-based transport infrastructure and the logistics chain, particularly with regards to the antiquated insurance products the insurance market had traditionally offered.
Zurich created specific products to meet those opportunities, in particular our port operators liability insurance and cargo handling facility liability insurance, which looks at physical operations such as marine container terminals, inter-model rail depots, storage and distribution centres or areas where there is actual physical handling of cargo. We also developed a logistics liability cover for those who provide a transport logistics service, such as 3Pl operators, large haulage operators, large and diversified freight forwarders and storage and distribution operators.
Our three new products basically provided cover for all of the key players in that land-based transport chain.
The products we developed were unique in that they combined a lot of what had traditionally been in separate lines of insurance, such as carriers liability, warehouseman's liability, general public liability, statutory liability and errors and admissions. This was all rolled into one very convenient and attractive product.
Another factor was our understanding of the dramatic change in contractual terms being used in domestic Australian transport.
Historically, the industry prospered on the back of its standard contract, the consignment note, which was cut to read "all care and no responsibility".
Ultimately, this unfair approach to the custodianship of third party cargo has been changing, so today, transport operators are dealing with highly sophisticated customers who require them to be responsible for the custody and control of goods in their care.
Ultimately, this has meant operators today contract on terms that represent the whole spectrum of liability, from no liability to negligence-based liability to no-fault based contracts. The important and unique feature of our insurance products is we understand this development and provide protection to our clients for this new and sometimes onerous contractual liability exposure.
The development of these innovative and progressive products has kept Zurich squarely as the market-leading provider of marine and transport liability insurance in both Australia and New Zealand. These products have also contributed to Zurich's involvement in the insurance programs of most of the major Australian logistics operators and almost all of the ports in Australia, including those in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Our success is being noticed abroad.
Globally, our international counterparts, including Zurich's Head of Global Marine, Mike Davies, have been looking to Australia to help steer the future strategic direction of our global marine business and learn from our local successes.
It is our continuing strategy to provide innovative and progressive solutions in marine and transport insurance that will ensure Zurich remains a market leader.
Barton Phillips, Zurich's National Manager Marine and Transport Liability Insurance, is regarded as an expert on insurance and risk management for the port and logistics industry.