New company launches overborder war and riots cover

SHOULD WAR or riots break out in any African country south of the Equator where transport vehicles belonging to South African companies are travelling, they are not covered by current insurance policies.
It's the WSRCC situation, where war, strikes, riots and civil commotion are not covered in normal liability, says Steven Forcey, director of Astra Maritime Underwriting Managers.
As a result a new product, African Special Risk Insurance Scheme (ASRIS), has been established to meet this need. It has been underwritten by Astra Maritime who, in turn, are underwriting managers for Hollard Insurance.
We identified a definite need for a special and separate coverage in this respect, he says. We called in a leading London broker who had experience of working with political risks and then approached the reinsurers.
There are ample case studies where items of this nature can be shown. I recall one where a convoy of some 70 vehicles was travelling through northern Mozam-bique. A claim was lodged in respect of the 37th vehicle in the line, which was left burnt out after it was said to have hit a land mine.
Now, why a single vehicle so far back in the line? It so happened they were travelling through a demarcated area where land mines were known to exist off the road. The convoy travelled in direct pattern to avoid them, but the driver of vehicle number 37 veered off the direct line when he found that the meal his co-driver was cooking in the cab had spilt over.
In doing so he struck a mine. That falls under the WSRCC exclusion. There was no insurance coverage of vehicle or contents.
Forcey says that rates have been set both for contract users and on a one-off basis. Every carrier, from large companies to one-man one-truck operations are acceptable.
You have government insurance coverage available in respect of these problems up to the borders of this country, but beyond that you are in the open and unprotected, he says of existing transport policies.