BOW WAVE 153

Rue de Regret Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

Bow Wave homepage
Previous issue (152) / Current issue / Next issue (154)

Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2002 WavyLine.com	Issue No 153 28 Oct 02
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
Subscribe	Unsubscribe

In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Underwriting Rules of Thumb for Multimodal Risks
3. S&P BB Rating for TT Club
4. Athens Convention
5. DMC On-Line: Notification of Claims
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

A fraternal newsletter has in its most recent edition run a rather terrible story on one of the most recent victims of a 419 fraud--in this case the bookkeeper in a firm of lawyers is the rube. The story in all its human frailty and cupidity is readable at:

http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/checks21_20020921.htm

New Readers this week include:

Franck Mamelin of Logistics Company Panalpina
Patrick Zinani of Global Transport Consultants in Basle Shaun Warbey of Robert Fleming Insurance Brokers
Diego Ramirez
Christian Doepgen of Swiss transport publishers Rittman Port management and operations Instructor Don Mclellan New York Lawyer Richard A. Zimmerman
London Lawyer Mark A. Lloyd of Walton & Morse
Chris Warner of brokers Wilson Re
Wanda Sample the new marketing manager at Avalon Risk Managment

News of Readers

Paul Crompton writes

My employer, CNA, has decided to reorganise its marine business in Canada. We are folding up Eastern Marine Underwriters, the MGA that CNA acquired with the purchase of Maritime Insurance Company in 1998 and henceforth will
use the brand "CNA Marine". The Maritime name will also disappear in Canada
and all CNA's business will be underwritten by Continental Casualty Company.

I have accepted the position of Marine Manager for Canada and will shortly be moving back to Toronto, ending a 7 year stint in Montreal.

Mark Jeeves, the Senior Executive at the Ipswich Branch of the Transport and
Liability Insurer of the newly refounded Allianz Marine & Aviation (UK Branch)
has sent us a press release announcing the latest reorganisation of the activities of Allianz. Reorganised are the Westminster Aviation Insurance Group ("WAIG"), Allianz AGF MAT and Allianz Cornhill Insurance into one organisational unit. The release says:

"The relocation of all 90 London-based employees to a joint new office at 2 Minster Court will be completed by mid October. This move enables Allianz
Marine & Aviation (UK Branch) to benefit more from its new organisational set-up and to remain located in the heart of the City of London and close to its key business partners.

The Ipswich operation of Allianz AGF MAT, where the transport and liability
centre is located, was temporarily closed from November 2001 and subsequently
restructured. It re-commenced underwriting under new leadership with effect
from May 1, 2002.

More from Mark Jeeves in Item 2

Africa Hand Jim Wannell writes in connection with 419 Frauds

Thank you for your discretion in not mentioning my address when quoting a counter-tactic for African scam letters , published in a recent edition of Bow Wave. These "artists" are getting more sophisticated and direct .

This weekend I received for the first time on my mobile phone voice mail the
following message " Hello there , we are phoning from managing director's office
of ....... Lagos , and we will shortly be visiting Paris, we would like to meet
you to discuss our exclusive investment projects etc etc etc "

The problem for shipping people , whose mobile phone numbers , not to speak
of home numbers , often appear in various trade publications , websites, with or without our knowledge , is that the 419 "sales technique " has now jumped out of the email box and is right in our faces!

Luckily we shipping people are seasoned enough to raise a smile at these attempts.

Readers Wants

Rod Gilbert of European Specialty Reinsurance in Ireland is trying to contact - Susan Armstrong who worked at Howdens, Alwen Hough Johnson and latterly, R.K. Carvill in the early 1980s. Does any Reader of Bow Wave know where she is now?

Contact him at:

Rod.Gilbert@esg-re.com

Quite a lot this week on the world of multimodal transport risks

Enjoy.

2. Underwriting Rules of Thumb for Multimodal Risks

We can recall how during the 1990s,from the town of Ipswich in the East of England, the firm usually erroneously identified by observers as "CAMAT" wrote through transport risks at what could only be described as competitive rates.

Mark Jeeves who lived through the period writes:

"I have over the months read with interest the views expressed in Bow Wave as to the woes of the insurance industry.

Time out is a sobering experience for any underwriter particularly in the Multimodal arena recently and having emerged the other end somewhat older and wiser, I would share some observations

1/ Contrary to the brokers' assertion, not only do outstanding Liability claims come home - they have a tendency to increase ! 2/ Budget on a claims tail of 7 years,
3/ Leave ones ego at home if quoting a blue chip account, 4/ Read and quantify all special contracts,
5/ There is no such thing as a market rate.

The Multimodal industry needs competent Multimodal Insurers of some longevity this can only be achieved if one concentrates on making a return
on capital. This necessarily takes time however an underwriter that imagines he can profit quickly from this industry does so at his peril."

3. S&P BB Rating for TT Club

The week past also saw the downgrading of the TT Club by Standard & Poor's. The item by insurance correspondent James Brewer in Lloyd's List reads as follows:

RATING agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the Through Transport Club, which provides liability cover for ports and logistics companies, to
BB (marginal) from BBB (good) on a public information basis

The move is a disappointment for the Club, although it says it should be judged on its rating from AM Best, which is B+ (very food), based on an assessment where analysts are given access to more detailed information.

AM Best moved its rating down from A- (excellent) in June. Rowena Potter, a leading Standard & Poor's expert on insurance, said its downgrade reflected "weak operating performance and marginal capitalisation", although this was offset by the Club's niche business position.

She pointed to a fall of 50% in the Club's free reserves in a year, and said recent quota share arrangements with reinsurers would be used to write more business rather than stem future losses.

TT Club marketing director, Ian Lush, said the S&P rating was more of a historical snapshot, which failed to take into account moves to address the claims position, business mix and unreal perceptions about solvency margins.

This is not the time or the place for us to comment extensively on how the Club has reached this dismal point in its history.

However we are sure the industry needs something better.

4. Athens Convention

From the tireless Dennis Bryant and his Maritime Items e-zine we learn:

The IMO issued a News Release reiterating the importance of a successful outcome to the Diplomatic Conference meeting this week and next to adopt a protocol to amend the liability regime of the Athens Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974. (10/23/02).

http://www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=583&doc_id=2522

5. DMC On-Line: Notification of Claims

We saw David Martin-Clark, the former Chairman of the TT Club, now in business as a mediator and guru, at the lecture on Shipping Security organised by the London Shipping Law Centre held at Lloyds's of London. DMC is listed now as Fellow Designate of the LSLC. This reminded us to take a look at his web site again to follow the case law on the transport, shipping and insurance industry. Our eye caught the report on the claim for damage to a crane operated by the firm George Hunt in the COurt of Appeal case of

George Hunt Cranes Limited v Scottish Boiler and General Insurance Co Limited

Readers who follow the legal decisions of this world can take advantage of DMC's fierce attention to detail at:

http://www.onlinedmc.co.uk/

6. And Finally...

Many thanks to Reader Jim Callahan for this latest example of geewhizzery, the kind of list which seems to circulate the internet with great velocity

INTERESTING STATS FROM 1902

The year 1902 was only one hundred years ago...what a difference a century makes.

The average life expectancy in the US was 47-years.

Only 14% of the homes in the US had a bath tub.

Only 8% of the homes had a telephone. A 3-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.00!

There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144-miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower in France.

The average wage in the US was 22-cents an hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95% of all births in the US took place at home.

Ninety percent of all US Physicians had no college education. Instead,they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost 4-cents a pound. Eggs were 14-cents a dozen. Coffee cost 15-cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

The five leading causes of death in the US were [in order of frequency]: 1. Pneumonia and Influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5.Stroke.

The American flag had 45-stars, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

One in ten US adults could not read or write. Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drug stores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Eighteen percent of all households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

BOW WAVE is published each week to around 7550 Readers in the transport,insurance,shipping and finance industries.

Thanks for reading BOW WAVE