Transport and Machinery insurance
The transport insurance, formerly called marine insurance, is the oldest form of insurance. The source of this insurance lies with the ancient Greeks and Romans. The so-called ‘foenus nauticum’, also referred to as ‘bottomry’ is generally accepted as the oldest form of risk coverage against the payment of a premium.
The monetary value existed of the principal having to pay a high interest rate over the loan sum after safe arrival of the goods. Should the vessel and/or cargo serving as security be lost during shipping, the repayment obligation would expire.
Through the years, this type of insurance developed into the current form of transport insurances. The most important categories of transport insurances are:
- The hull Insurance
- The cargo Insurance
- Liability insurance for persons involved in the transport
Traditionally, the transport insurances also include the insurance of exhibited goods and the insurance of work equipment. Standard conditions have been developed in the Netherlands for the transport insurance market, by the VNAB (the Dutch Insurance Exchange Association), insurance brokers and underwriters themselves.
In England the coverage is determined by the Marine Insurance Act 1906, as well as by the standard conditions that have been developed locally. Machinery and/or (land based) equipment is usually insured under a land based equipment insurance policy, with the accompanying standard conditions (see VNAB). Moreover, these conditions provide a basis for the products specifically developed by insurance brokers.
