Baltimore bridge collapse: reinsurers to bear most of the cost

The collapse of the Baltimore Bridge may prove to be the biggest loss ever recorded by marine insurers. The liability insurance of the "Dali", the container ship responsible for the disaster, will have to cover the damage inflicted on all injured parties.

The destroyed section of the 2.6 km bridge is estimated to be worth 1.2 billion USD. On top of this, there is the cost of damage to the con-tainer ship, as well as disruption to freight traffic and to economic and commercial activities in the region that depend on shipping. At this stage, the incident is estimated to have cost between 2 and 4 billion USD.

Owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, the Dali is partly covered by Britannia P&I Club. According to AM Best, however, most of the cost will be borne by reinsurers. Major repercussions are expected for marine in-surance and the reinsurance market.

P&I Clubs: the pooling agreement

Given the scale of the claim, the pooling agreement mechanism will come into play within P&I Clubs. In the event of damage exceeding a certain amount (currently 10 million USD), the costs are shared be-tween all members of the association.

The pooling agreement is primarily intended to ensure that there are enough compensation funds available in the event of a major catas-trophe.

The agreement allows members to pool their resources and expertise to cover major losses.