Underwriting

1.  The Entry

The underwriting work achieved significant progress during the 2010 Policy Year. The volume of entered tonnage maintained a high growth rate.

In the 2010 policy year, 207 ships totaling 7.02 million GT were newly entered in the Association, among which 95 ships totaling 4.27 million GT were newbuildings, accounting for 61% of the newly entered tonnage.

Owing to a flat shipping market, the competition in the insurance market has become more sever. Under such circumstances, the Association still maintained the increase in entered tonnage, due to the high quality of services, sound financial standing, and the competitive price the Association had offered during past 10 years. These factors have gained wide recognition among the majority of Chinese shipowners.

In the underwriting and marketing aspects, the Association carried out a considerable amount of work in research, screening, promotion and evaluation. To ensure the quality of members, the Association has called on every new applicant to observe their operations, and explain to them the rules of the Association.     

At February 20th 2011, the Association has 135 Members with 1043 entered ships totaling 27.8 million GT. The total entered tonnage increased by 3.79 million GT, representing an increase of 15.79% in comparison with the previous policy year.

2.  Collection of Calls

Substantial achievements were made in collecting calls and premiums in the 2010 policy year. The collection rate for advanced calls and premiums reached 98.3%. At February 20th 2010, the accrued premium receivables amounted to $ 2.34 million, which increased by 30% compared to that of the previous policy year.

In the 2010 Policy Year, the shipping market was still sluggish. Affected by the previous financial crisis, some Members experienced difficulties in their operation and cash flow. The majority of Members could pay the premiums on time, due to the enhanced awareness of fulfilling the insurance contract. As such, the Association accomplished satisfactory results in the collection of calls. However, some Members were unable to make payments of premiums on time. To protect the interests of all Members, the Association wished those Members could pay the premiums without delay.

3.  International Co-insurance

In the 2010 policy year, the 13 members of the International Group of P&I Clubs set their general increases ranging from 0% to 12.5%, at an average of 4.6%. Due to the high loss ratio and the increase of major claims in the Clubs with which the Association has had co-insurance programs, especially under the blow suffered by those Clubs in the global financial crisis, the Association was under pressure to accept a higher increase in the co- insurance premium. However, the Association was able to conclude a renewal arrangement with each Club for an average increase of 4.3% per GT comparing to that of policy year 2009.