Emergency Contact Premiums that provide certainty in uncertain times Home Latest updates News Premiums that provide certainty in uncertain times 24 Nov 2016 Download Sign up for alerts The trading conditions currently faced by many of our Members remain difficult. With pressure on incomes, vessel owners face the challenge of protecting their financial performance and inevitably all operational expenses are closely reviewed. It’s more important than ever for owners to be able to accurately forecast operational costs they will face during the year, and in so doing to take comfort that they have a first class, not for profit, mutual insurer supporting them and offering that peace of mind for when things go wrong. Many ship owners will be looking for ways to reduce costs and cheaper insurance can be an enticing option, but owners must always balance cost with quality and remember the benefits they obtain from their mutual insurance cover. This article looks at the way the Club calculates premiums, how they are structured and how this can lead to greater certainty for Members in these uncertain times. Stability Our Members need to know from one year to the next what the cost of their insurance cover will be. It’s therefore essential for them to know that their chosen insurer has a stable pricing policy that is derived based upon stable underwriting results and through the sharing of like-for-like risks. With a large and diverse spread of membership throughout the world the Shipowners’ Club has historically sought to produce consistent underwriting results through diversification and spread of risk. The financial stability of any insurer is measured by its combined ratio. This is established by taking the net ultimate claims plus operating expenses, expressed as a percentage of the net premium income. A figure below 100% signifies an underwriting surplus. As a non profit making mutual we strive to be just under 100%. The Club’s five year average combined ratio stands at 9