Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Marine Insurance and P&I Clubs glossary

The P&I and hull-policy vocabulary: advance and supplementary calls in a mutual club, aggregate limits, agreed value on a hull policy, allision versus collision for liability allocation, and the club, cover, and claims terms. Grounds each term in the P&I club practice or the hull-clause it belongs to.

247 defined terms.

A

Advance Call: The initial premium contribution set by a P&I club's underwriting committee at policy inception, payable by the member shipowner for the upcoming policy year.
Aggregate Limit: maximum payable in respect of all claims in the policy period.
Agreed Value: the value stated in the policy under section 27 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906, conclusive between assured and underwriter in the absence of fraud.
All risks cover: ICC(A) Institute Cargo Clauses A.
Allision: contact between a moving vessel and a fixed object such as a wharf or bridge.
American Club: Common name for the American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, Inc., a New York-based International Group P&I club founded in 1917.
American Hull Insurance Syndicate: A former United States hull market pool that published the AIHC 1977 wording widely used for North American flag vessels.
American Institute Hull Clauses 1977: A standard United States hull policy wording forming the basis of much North American hull cover, with named perils and a separate collision liability section.
American Institute War Risks SP-29: The standard United States hull war risk clauses used alongside AIHC for war and strikes cover.
Anti-Concurrent Causation: A clause stipulating that a loss is excluded if an excluded peril contributes to it, in any sequence, alongside an insured peril.
Apportionment of Salvage: The process by which average adjusters allocate salvage awards between hull, cargo, and freight interests in general average.
Arbitration Clause: Dispute resolution provision in MoA, typically LMAA, SCMA, or SMA.
Arrest of Vessel: Judicial seizure to secure a salvage claim, typically lifted upon provision of a Letter of Undertaking or bank guarantee.
Assignment of Policy: transfer of the benefit of a marine policy under section 50 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906.
Association of Average Adjusters: The London based professional body, founded 1869, that publishes rules of practice for general average adjustment.
Assured: the party named in the policy entitled to claim under it.
Athens Convention 2002: Protocol to the 1974 Athens Convention on Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, supported by P&I blue cards.
Attaching Reinsurance: A treaty under which reinsurers accept liability for cessions during a specified period, used in P&I pool reinsurance structures.
Average: Loss apportioned in general or particular average under York-Antwerp Rules.
Average Adjuster: independent professional who prepares general average and complex particular average statements.
Average Adjuster Practitioner: A title used by qualified adjusters practicing in the London market under the Association of Average Adjusters rules.
Average Bond: A written undertaking by cargo interests to pay their general average contribution once adjusted, given in exchange for delivery of the goods.
Average Guarantee: written undertaking, typically by cargo underwriters, to pay the cargo's general average contribution.

B

Back-to-Back Cover: reinsurance written on identical terms to the original direct insurance.
Bail Bond: A security instrument lodged to release an arrested vessel, often provided by a P&I club's letter of undertaking.
Barratry: a wrongful act willfully committed by the master or crew to the prejudice of the owner or charterer, an insured peril in traditional hull cover.
Berth Clause: A hull policy provision restricting cover to specified ports or trading limits, with additional premium for warranty breach.
Bill of Lading: Receipt, document of title, and evidence of the contract of carriage.
Blue Card: certificate issued by a P&I club evidencing insurance for liabilities under CLC 1992, Bunker Convention 2001, Wreck Removal Convention 2007, or Athens 2002.
Bottomry: ancient maritime loan secured on the ship, largely obsolete.
Breach of Warranty: failure to comply with a promissory warranty; under the Insurance Act 2015 the insurer is discharged from liability only while the breach continues.
Britannia P&I: P&I club operating a Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) scheme for entered crews.
Broker of Record: The insurance intermediary recognized by underwriters as representing the assured for a particular placement or program.
Builders' Risks: cover for hulls under construction, commonly written on Institute Clauses for Builders' Risks 1/6/88.
Bunker Convention 2001: International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage.
Bunker Spill Cover: P&I cover for pollution from a vessel's fuel oil, certified by Blue Card under the Bunker Convention 2001.

C

Calls: Premiums levied by mutual P&I clubs on members, including advance, supplementary, and release calls.
Captive Insurer: An insurance company owned by its insureds, used by IGP&I through Hydra Insurance Company in Bermuda for layer participation.
Cargo Claims: Third party claims for loss, damage, or short delivery of cargo carried on board, indemnified by P&I clubs subject to Hague-Visby defenses.
Cargoworthy: Condition that the holds or tanks are fit to receive the intended cargo.
Cefor: The Nordic Association of Marine Insurers, headquartered in Oslo, publishing market statistics and supporting NMIP.
Certificate of Entry: The document issued by a P&I club evidencing the terms of entry of a vessel for the policy year.
Charterer's Liability Cover: P&I cover purchased by time or voyage charterers for liabilities arising from their use of a chartered vessel.
Civil Liability Convention 1992: The CLC 1992 convention imposing strict liability on registered tanker owners for oil pollution damage, supported by compulsory P&I insurance.
Claims Cooperation Clause: A reinsurance provision requiring the cedant to consult reinsurers on claims handling and settlement strategy.
Claims Made Basis: A policy trigger covering claims first reported during the policy period, less common in marine insurance than losses occurring.
Class Maintained Warranty: A standard hull warranty requiring the vessel to remain in class with an IACS member society throughout the policy.
Classification Society: Organization that develops technical rules and certifies compliance; members of IACS include ABS, BV, CCS, CRS, DNV, IRS, KR, LR, NK, PRS, RINA, and RS.
CLC Blue Card: The certificate evidencing CLC 1992 financial responsibility, typically issued by a P&I club for tankers carrying persistent oil in bulk.
Cluster of Risks: A grouping of related exposures considered together in underwriting, such as Gulf transits or laid-up tonnage.
Codan: The Scandinavian insurer historically participating in Nordic hull markets alongside Gard and the Norwegian Hull Club.
Coinsurance: sharing of a single risk by two or more insurers in stated proportions on the same policy.
Collision Liability: Liability arising from physical contact between two vessels, allocated three quarters to P&I under the Three-Fourths Running Down Clause and one quarter to hull.
Combined Single Limit: liability limit applying to combined property damage and bodily injury.
Constructive Total Loss: Damage such that repair cost exceeds insured value, often triggering wreck removal.
Containerized Cargo: Cargo shipped in ISO containers, insured under ICC clauses with specific provisions for FCL and LCL movements.
Contributory Value: The value of each interest contributing to general average, used as the basis for computing each party's contribution.
Costa Concordia (2012): Italian cruise ship that grounded off Isola del Giglio on 13 January 2012 with 32 deaths; investigated by the Italian Marine Casualties Investigative Body.
Crew Claims: The category of P&I claims relating to seafarer death, injury, illness, repatriation, and unpaid wages.
Cross Liabilities: principle in collision adjustment treating each ship as paying the other in full proportion to blame.
CSL Virginia 2018: The bulk carrier involved in a notable collision in 2018, generating multi-jurisdictional P&I claims.

D

Deductible: amount of each claim borne by the assured before the policy responds, also called franchise or excess.
Defence Cover: Insurance for the legal costs of pursuing or defending shipowners in commercial disputes, marketed as FD&D by P&I clubs.
Deferred Call: A supplementary contribution levied by a P&I club after the policy year, reflecting actual underwriting and pool results.
Demise charter: Bareboat charter.
Detention: PSC action holding a ship until deficiencies are rectified.
Direct Action: statutory right to sue the liability insurer directly, granted in some jurisdictions but limited by pay-to-be-paid in P&I.
Diving Operations: A specialty activity excluded or specially conditioned in P&I cover, addressed under Offshore Exclusion Clauses.
Double Insurance: The situation, addressed in Section 32 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906, in which the same risk is insured by two or more policies exceeding the insurable value.
DTV ADS 1919: The Allgemeine Deutsche Seeversicherungsbedingungen, the German general marine insurance conditions originally codified in 1919 and revised over time.

E

Earthquake Peril: A natural peril covered under all risks hull and cargo wordings unless specifically excluded.
Engine Damage: Loss to machinery covered under hull policies subject to the Inchmaree Clause and crew negligence safeguards.
Ever Given (2021): 20,000 TEU container ship grounded across the Suez Canal from 23 to 29 March 2021; investigated by Panama Maritime Authority as flag state.
Excess of Loss Reinsurance: A reinsurance treaty responding when individual losses or aggregations exceed an agreed retention.
Excluded Perils: Risks specifically not covered by the policy, such as ordinary wear and tear, inherent vice, and delay in cargo policies.
Excluded Vessels: Categories such as speedboats, vessels over 25 years not subject to special survey, and unclassed tonnage excluded from standard P&I entry.
Exposure: The amount of insured value or limit at risk in any one location, voyage, or accumulation.

F

FD&D: Freight, Demurrage, and Defense cover, a class providing legal costs cover for marine commercial disputes not falling within P&I.
Felicity Ace (2022): Pure car carrier that caught fire and sank in the North Atlantic, salved under LOF by SMIT.
Fines Cover: P&I indemnity for customs, immigration, and pollution fines imposed on shipowners or crews, subject to club rules and discretion.
Fixed and Floating Objects: Property such as buoys, piers, and platforms whose damage by a vessel is indemnified under FFO extension to P&I.
Fixed Premium Cover: P&I cover sold at a non-mutual fixed rate, common for charterer's liability and smaller tonnage.
Forfaiture: The loss of a right to insurance benefits through breach of duty, recognized historically in continental marine codes.
Forwarder's Liability: Insurance for freight forwarders covering errors and omissions in cargo handling and documentation.
Free of Particular Average: A historic cargo cover excluding partial losses except in defined circumstances, embodied in ICC C.
Freight at Risk: freight payable on delivery and therefore exposed to loss, eligible for separate insurance.
Fronting Arrangement: A structure where a licensed insurer issues a policy on behalf of an unlicensed reinsurer, sometimes used in cross-border P&I placements.

G

Gard P&I: Assuranceforeningen Gard, founded 1907 in Arendal, Norway, the largest International Group club measured by gross tonnage entered.
General Average: Loss voluntarily incurred for the common safety, contributed by all interests under York-Antwerp Rules.
General Average Bond: undertaking by cargo interests on Lloyd's form to pay any GA contribution found due.
General Average Deposit: cash payment by cargo interests as security pending adjustment.
General Average Sacrifice: voluntary destruction or damage of property to save the common adventure.
Grounding: Casualty in which a vessel's hull contacts the seabed, the shore, or an underwater obstruction.
Guarantee of Performance: A surety undertaking, often by a parent or bank, supporting performance of charterparty obligations.
Gulf of Aden: Embayment between Yemen and Somalia connecting the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

H

Hague Rules 1924: International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading.
Hague-Visby Rules: 1968 Visby Protocol and 1979 SDR Protocol to the Hague Rules.
Hamburg Rules 1978: UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, in force 1992; limited adoption.
Heavy Weather: A peril of the seas covered under standard hull and P&I wordings for storm related damage.
Hold Cleaning Liability: P&I exposure where cargo claims arise from inadequate cleaning of holds between voyages.
Holman Fenwick Willan: A London headquartered international law firm specializing in shipping, marine insurance, and P&I disputes.
Hot Work: Cutting or welding generating sparks, restricted around hydrocarbons during salvage.
Hull and machinery insurance: H&M, marine insurance for the vessel itself.
Hull War Risks: Insurance covering hull losses caused by war, strikes, piracy, terrorism, and related perils, typically excluded from primary hull cover.
Hydra Insurance Company: The Bermuda captive of the International Group of P&I Clubs, participating in pool layers above the individual club retention.

I

IACS: International Association of Classification Societies, 12 members.
ICC A: Institute Cargo Clauses A, the all risks form of standard cargo cover, widely used in the 2009 revision.
ICC B: Institute Cargo Clauses B, an intermediate named perils cargo form covering specified casualties and discharge events.
ICC C: Institute Cargo Clauses C, the narrowest named perils form, covering basic catastrophic perils only.
IGP&I: The International Group of P&I Clubs, the London headquartered association of 12 mutual clubs covering approximately 90 percent of the world's ocean going tonnage.
IGP&I Pooling Agreement: The mutual claim sharing arrangement between the 12 member clubs covering individual claims from 10 million up to 100 million United States dollars.
IGP&I Reinsurance Programme: The market reinsurance program placed annually above the pool, providing cover up to 3.1 billion United States dollars per claim through more than 60 reinsurers.
Inchmaree Clause: A hull clause originating from the Inchmaree case, extending cover to losses caused by latent defects in machinery and certain crew negligence.
Indemnity Principle: The principle that marine insurance is a contract of indemnity, restricting recovery to actual loss subject to agreed value provisions.
Institute Cargo Clauses: The standard London market cargo wordings A, B, and C, most recently revised in 2009.
Institute Time Clauses Hulls 1.10.1983: The standard London market hull wording for time policies, providing named perils and three-fourths collision liability cover.
Institute War and Strikes Clauses Hulls 1.11.1995: The standard London market hull war risks wording, written alongside ITCH for separate war cover.
International Average Adjusters Association: An international body of marine claim adjusters supporting general average and particular average practice.
International Group Affiliates: Smaller mutual or fixed premium insurers reinsuring through a parent IGP&I club to access pool and group reinsurance capacity.
International Underwriting Association: The IUA, representing the London companies market alongside Lloyd's, including hull and cargo underwriters.
IOPC Funds: International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds 1992 and Supplementary.
IUA London Companies Market: The non Lloyd's London market for marine and other insurance, complementary to subscribing syndicates at Lloyd's.

J

Japan P&I Club: The Japan Ship Owners' Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, an International Group P&I club serving primarily Japanese-flag and Japanese-managed tonnage.
Jettison: Throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship, may give rise to general average.
Joint and Several Liability: The doctrine permitting recovery in full against any of several co-defendants, with rights of contribution between them.
Joint Hull Understandings: London market guidelines historically providing common standards for hull underwriting and survey requirements.
Joint War Committee: London insurance market body publishing Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas.
Jurisdictional Clause: A policy provision designating the law and forum for disputes, typically English law and London arbitration in marine wordings.

K

K&R Cover: Kidnap and Ransom insurance purchased alongside hull war and P&I cover for transits through piracy areas.
Keel to Mast: A traditional description of comprehensive hull cover encompassing the entire vessel structure.
Knock-for-Knock: Reciprocal indemnity arrangement in offshore and towage contracts.
Known Loss Doctrine: The rule that no insurance attaches to a loss known to have occurred before inception of cover.

L

Laid-Up Returns: Hull premium refunds payable when a vessel is laid up in a safe port for a continuous period of at least 30 days.
Latent Defect: defect in machinery or hull not discoverable by due diligence, addressed by ITC Hulls 1/10/83 clause 6.2.2 (Inchmaree-style cover).
Letter of Undertaking: A written guarantee from a P&I club to secure release of an arrested vessel, accepted by claimants in lieu of bail bond.
Limitation of Liability: Right of shipowner to cap liability under LLMC 1976/1996.
Listed Areas: JWC designated waters attracting additional war risk premium.
Lloyd's Form Cargo: Historic cargo wording originating from the Lloyd's market, superseded by Institute Cargo Clauses.
Lloyd's of London: The London insurance market organized under the Lloyd's Act 1871 and subsequent statutes, comprising managing agents, syndicates, members, and the Corporation.
Lloyd's Open Form: Standard salvage contract, current edition LOF 2020 with SCOPIC 2020.
Lloyd's Salvage Arbitration Branch: Body administering LOF awards and appeals in London.
Lockton: An international insurance broker active in marine, hull, and P&I placements.
London P&I: The London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association, founded 1869, party to merger discussions with West of England in 2024 to form WestLondon.
Loss Adjuster: An independent professional appointed to investigate, quantify, and apportion marine claims.
Loss of Hire: A separate cover indemnifying owners for daily loss of earnings while a vessel is off-hire due to an insured peril, with daily indemnities typically between 30,000 and 100,000 United States dollars…
Loss Prevention Bulletin: A safety circular issued by P&I clubs sharing claims experience and operational guidance with members.
Lump Sum Charter: A charter where freight is payable as a single sum, treated as a separate insurable interest in marine policies.

M

Machinery Damage: Loss to the vessel's main engines, auxiliaries, and equipment, covered under hull and machinery policies subject to deductible.
Maersk Honam (2018): Ultra-large container vessel that suffered a major cargo fire in the Arabian Sea, salved under LOF by Smit.
Marine Insurance Act 1906: UK statute codifying marine insurance law, substantially amended for non-consumer business by the Insurance Act 2015.
Marsh: A leading international insurance broker active in marine hull, cargo, and P&I placements.
MLC 2006: Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, ILO instrument with five titles.
MOL Comfort (2013): Container ship that broke in two in the Indian Ocean on 17 June 2013; investigated by ClassNK and Bahamas as flag state.
Mutual Premium: The advance call, supplementary call, and release call structure used by mutual P&I clubs.
MV Dali: The container ship that allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on 26 March 2024, generating insurance exposures estimated to exceed 700 million United States dollars.
MV Genius Star XI 2024: The general cargo ship that suffered an incident in 2024, drawing P&I and salvage attention.
MV Wakashio 2020: The bulk carrier that grounded on a reef off Mauritius in July 2020, generating pollution and wreck removal exposures exceeding 1 billion United States dollars.

N

Nairobi WRC: Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007.
Named Perils: cover responding only to perils specifically listed, as in ICC (B) and (C).
Negligence of Master or Crew: An insured peril under the Inchmaree Clause, subject to absence of due diligence safeguards.
NEPIA: The North of England Protecting and Indemnity Association, founded 1860 in Newcastle, which merged with the Standard Club in 2023 to form NorthStandard.
Net tonnage: Vessel measurement representing earning capacity.
NMIP 2013: The Norwegian Marine Insurance Plan 2013, updated through to the 2024 version, the principal Nordic hull and machinery wording.
Non-Mutual Cover: Fixed premium P&I cover where the insurer rather than the membership bears underwriting variance.
Norman Atlantic 2014: The ferry that suffered a major fire in the Adriatic in December 2014, resulting in passenger fatalities.
North P&I: The North of England Protecting and Indemnity Association, founded 1860 in Newcastle, merged into NorthStandard in 2023.
NorthStandard: An International Group P&I club formed in February 2023 by the merger of North of England Protecting and Indemnity Association and the Standard Club.
Norwegian Hull Club: The Bergen based mutual hull insurer, a leading Nordic market hull underwriter.

O

Off-hire survey: Joint survey at redelivery.
Offshore Exclusion Clauses: Specialty wordings restricting P&I cover for vessels engaged in offshore construction, drilling, or accommodation work.
Oil Pollution Act 1990: The United States OPA-90 statute imposing strict pollution liability on responsible parties for spills in United States waters, with high financial responsibility requirements.
Open Cover: contract under which underwriters agree to accept all cargo shipments meeting agreed criteria during a stated period.
Owner's Tonnage: P&I cover purchased by registered shipowners for their owned tonnage, contrasted with charterer's liability cover.

P

P&I Brokers: Specialist intermediaries placing P&I cover for shipowners, including Marsh, Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Arthur J Gallagher, Lockton, and Tysers.
P&I Club: Mutual insurance association covering protection-and-indemnity risks.
Particular Average: Partial loss falling on the owner of the property lost or damaged.
Passenger Claims: P&I claims arising from death, injury, or luggage loss to passengers, subject to Athens Convention 2002 limits.
Perils of the Seas: fortuitous accidents or casualties of the seas, an insured peril; ordinary action of the wind and waves excluded.
Place of Refuge: Sheltered area allowing a casualty to stabilise, framed by IMO Resolution A.949(23).
Pollution Liability: The body of strict liability under CLC, the Bunker Convention, and national statutes such as OPA 1990.
Pool Claim: A claim that exceeds the individual club's retention and is shared by International Group clubs under the Pooling Agreement.
Port Risk Policy: Hull cover for a vessel restricted to a named port or area without trading at sea.
Premium Rate: FFA pricing language for contracts trading above the prevailing spot equivalent of a route.
Protection and Indemnity: Third party liability cover provided by mutual P&I clubs, distinct from first party hull and machinery insurance.

Q

Quarantine Expenses: Costs of port detention and disinfection imposed on shipowners, recoverable under P&I cover for fines and expenses.
Quota Share Reinsurance: A proportional reinsurance treaty under which the reinsurer takes an agreed percentage of each risk and corresponding premium.

R

RDC: Refinitiv Dow Jones compliance data partnership, used to screen vessel ownership.
Reasonable Despatch: assured's duty under ICC clause 18 to act with reasonable despatch in circumstances within their control.
Reefer Cargo: Refrigerated cargo, often subject to specialized clauses addressing breakdown of refrigerating machinery.
Reinsurance Treaty: A contract between insurer and reinsurer, the structural basis of the IGP&I market reinsurance program.
Release Call: A final call levied by a P&I club on a member ceasing entry, in lieu of further supplementary calls for past policy years.
Repatriation Cover: P&I cover for crew repatriation expenses under MLC 2006 and national law.
Richards Hogg Lindley: A long established firm of average adjusters operating in London and internationally.
Roger Hanson: A senior London average adjuster, historically associated with major casualty adjustments.
Rotterdam Rules: UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, 2009, not yet in force.

S

Salvage: Recovery of a vessel or cargo from peril at sea.
Salvage Arbitration: Process by which Lloyd's appointed arbitrators determine LOF awards.
Sanchi 2018: The Iranian flag condensate tanker that collided with the bulker CF Crystal in the East China Sea on 6 January 2018 and burned for days before sinking.
Sanctions Exclusion: A standard marine policy clause excluding liability where cover would breach economic sanctions of relevant jurisdictions.
SCOPIC: Special Compensation P&I Club Clause, optional supplement to LOF providing P&I-funded tariff remuneration where Article 14 might otherwise apply.
Sea of Azov: A Joint War Committee listed area where additional war premium is charged for vessel transits.
Seaworthiness: Carrier's duty to make the ship seaworthy under Article III Rule 1 of Hague-Visby.
Sewol (2014): South Korean ro-pax that capsized on 16 April 2014 with 304 deaths, mostly students; investigated by the Korean Coast Guard and the Special Investigation Commission.
Shipowners' Club: Shipowners' Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, an International Group P&I club.
Short delivery: Quantity of fuel received less than the BDN figure.
Skuld: Assuranceforeningen Skuld, a Norwegian-headquartered International Group P&I club founded in 1897.
Speedboat Exclusion: The standard P&I exclusion of high speed pleasure craft from club entry.
Standard Club: The Standard Steamship Owners' Protection and Indemnity Association, founded in 1884, which merged with North of England in February 2023 to form NorthStandard.
Steamship Mutual: P&I club operating PEME scheme through approved clinics worldwide.
STOPIA: The Small Tanker Oil Pollution Indemnification Agreement, a voluntary IGP&I arrangement supplementing CLC 1992 for smaller tankers.
Strait of Hormuz: Strait connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
Strikes Cover: A separate extension covering loss caused by strikers, locked out workers, and persons taking part in labor disturbances.
Subrogation: Insurer's right to step into the insured's claim against third parties.
Sue and Labour: Insurance principle requiring the assured to take reasonable measures to avert loss, with the cost recoverable from insurers.
Supplementary Call: additional contribution levied by a P&I club on members if standard calls are insufficient.
Surveyor's Report: Pre-acceptance condition survey commissioned by the recycler or buyer.
Swedish Club: Sveriges Ångfartygs Assurans Förening, an International Group P&I club founded in 1872 and headquartered in Gothenburg, writing P&I, hull, and energy.

T

Three-Fourths Collision Liability: ITC Hulls 1/10/83 clause 8 covering 75% of collision liability, with the remaining quarter falling to P&I.
Time Charterer's Liability: P&I cover for charterers operating vessels under time charters, including bunker and cargo handling risks.
Time Policy: policy insuring for a defined period of time, as defined in section 25 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906.
Tokyo Marine: A major Japanese marine insurer participating in hull and P&I placements.
TOPIA: The Tanker Oil Pollution Indemnification Agreement, a voluntary IGP&I arrangement supplementing the IOPC Supplementary Fund for larger tanker spills.
Total loss: Actual or constructive total loss for insurance purposes.
Towage Liability: P&I cover for liability arising under customary or contractual towage.
Trading Warranty: navigation warranty restricting the vessel's trading limits and forming the basis of breach trading warranty additional premium.
Tysers: A London based specialist marine insurance broker, active in hull, cargo, and P&I placements.

U

UK P&I Club: United Kingdom Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association, founded 1869, International Group member.
Underwriting Year: The twelve month period to which a P&I policy and its calls relate, traditionally beginning at noon on 20 February.
Uninsured Perils: Risks not covered by the policy, typically including war, sanctions, and certain specialty exposures absent endorsement.
Unrepaired Damage: damage not repaired before sale or end of policy, recoverable in part under ITC Hulls 1/10/83 clause 18.
Utmost Good Faith: See Uberrimae Fidei.

V

Valued Policy: policy specifying the agreed value of the subject matter insured, per section 27 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906.
Vessel sharing agreement: VSA, carrier cooperation allocating slots on jointly operated services.
Voyage Policy: policy from one place to another, as defined in section 25 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906.

W

Wakashio (2020): Japanese-owned bulk carrier grounded on Pointe d'Esny reef, Mauritius, on 25 July 2020, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of VLSFO; investigated by Panama as flag state and the Mauritian Court of…
War Cargo: Cargo war risk cover written under Institute War Clauses Cargo, separate from standard ICC perils.
War Risks Insurance: Cover for losses arising from war, civil war, revolution, rebellion, insurrection, capture, seizure, arrest, restraint, detainment, mines, torpedoes, and similar perils, customarily excluded from…
Warranty: see Promissory Warranty; reformed by sections 9 to 11 of the Insurance Act 2015.
West of England P&I: International Group P&I club founded 1870.
WestLondon: The combined International Group entity proposed in 2024 from the merger of West of England and London P&I.
Willis Towers Watson: An international insurance broker active in marine hull, cargo, and P&I placements.
Without Benefit of Salvage: A historical policy form rendered void by Section 4 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 as constituting a wagering contract.
Wreck removal: Operations under Nairobi Convention.

X

X-Press Pearl (2021): Singapore-flag container ship that caught fire off Colombo on 20 May 2021 and sank on 2 June 2021, releasing billions of plastic pellets; investigated by Singapore TSIB and Sri Lanka.

Y

Yantian Express (2019): Container vessel that suffered a fire in the Atlantic Ocean, salved under LOF.
York-Antwerp Rules: CMI-drafted rules for adjustment of general average; current editions 1994, 2004, 2016.

Z

Zone Limits: trading limits set out in hull trading warranties, often defined by reference to International Navigating Conditions.