Insurance can prevent expensive litigation

IF YOU'VE planned your marine insurance cover adequately, there should be no need for maritime lawyers. That's the view of Fred Harrison, executive director of maritime insurance specialists Marriott Marineserve. "More and more people are becoming aware of the need for proper standard trading conditions," says Harrison. "This leads to the need for a definitive liability insurance package to cater for those events whose consequences can compromise a company's very existence." Examples include a forwarding agent who inadvertently misdelivers goods, a clearing agent who misdeclares goods, or a transport contractor who, of necessity, cannot control the actions of his drivers. "All these situations can lead to expensive and unnecessary litigation if one's standard trading conditions are not correctly in place," says Harrison. But even so, situations occur which give rise to legal liability. "These are however insurable in specialist liability markets," he added. "At Marriott Marineserve we offer all shipping and transport intermediaries tailor-made cover and advice on loss-prevention and risk management."