This article was produced in partnership with Hiller Marine
Do brokers want to save time, and generally find life easier when it comes to placing marine insurances?
Marine Bind is an automated online underwriting platform that does just that, allowing brokers to bypass unnecessary paperwork and focus on their main business of quickly finding the most appropriate coverage for their clients.
Brokers are able to obtain quotes for Boat, Annual Cargo, Supply Chain, Single Transit, Carriers, Commercial Hull and Portable Property covers – all in one place.
“Marine Bind has been purposefully designed and built by our underwriters to make it much easier for brokers to access a wide range of marine products on a single portal,” says Neil Hiller, director and underwriter at Hiller Marine, the independent underwriting agency who operates Marine Bind specialising in boat and commercial hull insurances as well as supply chain, transport and logistics risks.
Users can obtain quotes, refer risks that are out of the ordinary, instantly bind cover, renew and endorse policies, and immediately obtain all policy documentation – such as certificates of currency, which are typically urgently needed by clients at five o’clock on a Friday afternoon when the underwriters have gone home for the weekend!
Brokers often complain that they spend too much time completing unnecessarily lengthy questionnaires only to find at the end of a drawn-out process that the risk doesn’t fit – using Marine Bind helps alleviate such delays. More brokers are recognising the advantages of using the system, which gives them more time to concentrate on other important aspects of broking – including avoiding costly marine insurance mistakes.
“Each year the number of brokers who use the system doubles … many enthusiastically confirm it’s the easiest online underwriting system out there in the market,” says Hiller.
Most brokers who get involved in marine insurance do so ‘on the side’, often as an adjunct to other major product lines, and are fully aware that they don’t have a deep knowledge of the area. This is where they can find the Marine Bind team of experienced underwriters really helpful.
Hiller who was previously a Senior Examiner on Marine subjects at the Chartered Insurance Institute in London says: “Marine insurance can be a complex subject and few insurance brokers have a real understanding of some of the technical nuances, legal principles and concepts that differ substantially from those that they are much more familiar with in other classes of insurance.”
It is no secret that some aspects of marine insurance can be arcane, with rules and practices that can date back hundreds of years to the age of sail.
“Our team at Marine Bind has considerable technical experience in pleasure-craft and commercial hull insurance and cargo and transport risks - we are always keen to support brokers who need to be certain they are arranging the appropriate coverage for their clients.”
Having a knowledge base of specialist expertise available in support helps brokers avoid errors and omissions exposures when arranging marine cover and handling claims.
Some marine risks are obviously complicated, but many appear simple and straightforward. Nevertheless, a common theme with marine insurance policies is that certain areas can leave shortfalls in cover. These holes in coverage can sink a broker when they least expect it.
The Marine Bind team has both broking and underwriting experience, allowing them practical insights into what brokers will find most helpful when they are attempting to reconcile marine risk exposures with the right type of coverage.
As specialists in the area, the Marine Bind team know where most of these traps are and offer products that ensure the holes in coverage are plugged.
“Our products have been purposefully designed to fill many of the typical gaps in marine policy wordings that frequently prove the difference between having a claim paid or declined,” says Hiller.
One example is the Marine Bind Supply Chain Risk Cover. It provides continuity of cover right through from overseas supplier to local customer in a single seamless policy.
“[Our cover] removes much of the heavy burden from brokers and their clients who are usually expected to prove exactly where, how, and when loss or damage occurred when a cargo has been transported across the world in an enclosed shipping container that appears undamaged from the outside,” says Hiller.
Uniquely, it combines coverage for transit and storage risks with cover for delay, lost profit margins, consequential loss and supply chain disruption for those companies who face varied types of uncertainty because their businesses are reliant on local and international supply chains. The Supply Chain product has the added benefit of providing legal expense protection for companies when they encounter disputes with parties who are involved in their supply chain.
Despite Hiller Marine being founded only eight years ago, its marine specialists have a combined broking and underwriting experience of more than 100 years.
“We look to deliver value to the brokers though our products, our professionalism, specialist expertise and the online platform we have built to make brokers’ lives easier when placing marine risks,” says Hiller.
