What trends should the industry be aware of?
Firstly, while hull underwriters had a positive year, the segment can expect some shifts within its market. Global ocean hull premiums experienced a notable rise of 5.7% in 2022, reaching a total of US$8.4 billion. This increase was primarily attributed to a combination of heightened activity, escalated vessel values, and a decrease in market capacity.
During the same period, claims remained at a moderate level, although the early months of 2023 have seen a slight uptick. Collectively, these factors have positively impacted overall loss ratios, which have been on a downward trajectory for the past three years, with 2022 ratios commencing at the lowest point since 2015.
However, despite this relatively positive development, the looming concern is the potential impact of inflation. Ilias Tsakiris, chair of IUMI’s Ocean Hull Committee, highli