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MARINE | Cargo data In association with Concirrus
Cargo market needs to embrace data revolution Recent events such as the Maersk Eindhoven and Essen container losses in the Pacific have put into sharp focus the need for digitalisation in the cargo market. Until recently, the data has not been available, but this is quickly changing. Juan Carlos Martinez, (left) CEO of CargoCorp Underwriters and Edward Ronayne, (below left) Cargo Subject Matter Expert at Concirrus, examine why the market must grasp the benefits that data can deliver The move towards a more digital future for the cargo market is not simply a case of driving efficiency. Recent high-profile losses, coupled with the disruption that COVID-19 has caused across the globe has only highlighted the need for underwriters to better access data to both understand and manage their exposures. “Cargo insurers have, in the past, been in a position where they have not had the ability to access the data to understand the impact of an incident on their clients and their own exposures,” explains Carlos Martinez, of CargoCorp Underwriters. “For instance, when a port has closed, it may well be they have two insured vessels in port, but another three in the approaches which had been seeking to access the terminals, The Marine Insurer Americas Edition | June 2021
creating not just a two vessel but a five-vessel accumulation risk, due to the closure,” he adds. Mr Martinez says that the lack of data creates delays in reaction and decision-making which, in turn, increases the threats of additional costs and greater damage to the cargo by failing to take the necessary actions in time. “The ability to assess the impact of future events is essential to ensuring the long-term stability and profitability of a portfolio, which is why regulators expect insurers to be able to articulate the impact of certain events on their book,” adds Ed Ronayne, of Concirrus. “Virtually, all cargo insurers will perform catastrophe modelling on their storage exposures because they have the data that enables them to do so. Until now, the fluid and fast-moving nature of global trade means that transit exposures are continuously changing. This means that
