News 23 Nov, 2022 Controlling & Predicting Legal Costs - Waypoints 03 How does an owner or charterer handle their everyday pre- and post fixture issues if they don’t have the benefit of an in-house legal team or FD&D insurance? Mark Mathews believes the Qwest Legal service could be the answer. Download PDF Freight Demurrage & Defence or FD&D insurance provides legal costs cover for shipping disputes not covered by any other insurance. With that in mind, some might simply argue that all prudent operators without an in-house legal team should purchase FD&D. However, this is not always the case: a significant proportion of owners or charterers, do not buy FD&D insurance, as they believe they do not need it and in many cases, years of operation with no significant disputes with counter parties may have suggested that is right.  FD&D is not a ‘compulsory’ insurance like P&I and while legal costs that are likely to be incurred when a complex dispute needs to be arbitrated or litigated can be very high, such disputes are fortunately rare. But operators do find themselves in need of guidance for the more ‘run of the mill’ pre- and post-fixture issues relating to such as charterparty wordings, off-hire, demurrage, unpaid freight, speed and consumption, as well as other day to day disagreements with suppliers and partners arising out of the general course of business. Each of those enquiries, if not fielded by a kindly P&I insurer, could result in a cost and legal spend that slowly builds up over the course of a year that is unpredictable and hard to budget for.  For a one-off occurrence, service may be negotiated from their P&I provider or a friendly lawyer. But any advice would in all likelihood be caveated to the extent that the professional providing the answers had not been formally appointed and may therefore not have been able to consider the circumstances and documentation relating to the matter in great detail.