It's over again. The annual congress of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) that took place from 17 to 20 September. This year Edinburgh was the stage and on behalf of the Dutch Association of Insurers, policy advisor Marko van Leeuwen was present. He explains what IUMI is and does, but also what the lobby organization is doing.
"Traditionally, Europe and the US are important continents for transport and therefore also for the insurance market. In addition, the Far East is a developing market. Our country also has a powerful say in the transport world, both locally and internationally. That is why the Dutch Association of Insurers, like associations of 42 other countries, is a member of the International Union of Marine Insurance.
Maritime safety
IUMI is a lobbying organization and maintains contacts with many organizations. Think of the United Nations and the European Union. But also to Oceana (which actively combats illegal fishing), IMO (International Maritime Organisation), IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) and the World Ocean Council.
There is even a special committee that updates the so-called Policy Agenda four times a year, which describes the state of affairs of ongoing lobbying processes. Important themes at the moment are safety of container ships and ferries (RoOs), ESG and autonomous/unmanned transport. In addition, topics such as sanctions and maritime safety have been on the IUMI agenda for much longer.
Congress
Every year IUMI organizes a large international conference for about 700 participants. The various forums and committees organize various workshops and panel discussions in three days, with no less than sixty external speakers. In addition to a central board, IUMI consists of a large number of formal forums. For example, industry committees such as Cargo, Ocean Hull, Fishery, Yachts, Liability and Offshore Energy are looking at education, big data & digitization, prevention, sanctions and, of course, I would almost dare to say: sustainability.
Turbulent world
The world of transport (insurance) is turbulent and dynamic. And, unsurprisingly, strongly internationally oriented. All raw materials, materials and items we use are transported. Often they come from far away. By land, by inland waterways and also by sea. There are risks associated with this transport that can be covered by a transport insurance (Marine Insurance). One of the most important parties for transport risks is the insurance market Lloyds of London.
Rising inflation, more frequent and larger storms due to climate change, but also geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine, have a major impact on the transport insurance market.
Turbulence
The congress has a different theme every year. This year in Edinburgh (Scotland) strenght & stability in turbulant seas was chosen. The turbulence stems from the usual losses, but is also the result of the geopolitical situation, inflation, technological developments and discussions about sustainability.
The latter, and certainly the role of insurers in sustainability, has been one of the common threads for several years. Sustainability is a broad theme, which is obviously about zero-emission. But also about the safety and well-being of the crew. And about preventing illegal, unregistered and unidentified transport.
Of course, there is no question of insurers being able to collectively prescribe to their customers what to do, but they can work with those aforementioned organizations to promote as much sustainability and safety as possible.
Dutch contribution
Four committee members are currently active from the Dutch market: Jenny Groeneveld (HDI Global - Ocean Hull committee), Victor van de Lest (Corins - Loss Prevention committee), Emiel Paaij (DUPI - Facts & Figures committee) and Stefan de Rooij (DUPI - Inland Hull, Fishing Vessels & Yachts committee).
Anneke Kooiman (DUPI) is a member of the IUMI main board and participates in discussions about strategic developments. I myself have been secretary of the IFY committee on Inland Navigation, Fisheries and Pleasure Boating for eight years.
Specific issues in my committee are the risks of fire on board. For example, by using lithium-ion batteries. In addition, we deal with storm risks, combating illegal fishing and drug transport.
Frouwke Klootwijk-de Vries, chairman of the International Association of Rhine Vessels (IVR), gave an interesting presentation this year about the emission calculation tool that the IVR has developed.
Rotterdam in 2026
After three long days, we closed the IUMI congress yesterday. This means that preparations for the elections of new committee members will soon begin again. Just like organizing the congress in 2024. Berlin is then the host. It will be a special version, because IUMI exists 150 years that year. In three years, in 2026, the Association will be the organizing association and the congress will be held in Rotterdam. Preparations for this have already started. Of course, I will regularly update the progress of the preparations. Are there any questions in the meantime? Feel free to email me."
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