The domestic Insurance Pool aims to reduce dependence on foreign insurers (International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs) amid global volatility and geopolitical instability, according to an official statement.
BMI Pool will cover Indian-flagged/controlled vessels carrying cargo from any International origin to Indian ports and vice-versa including transit through volatile maritime corridors, it added.
The Pool ensures availability of affordable and continuous maritime insurance, safeguarding India’s trade flows, the government said.
It Covers all major maritime risks: Hull & Machinery, Cargo, Protection & Indemnity (P&I), and War risk.
BMIP will cover India-flagged and controlled vessels as well as India-linked trade for an initial 10 years, extendable upto 15 years. It follows a two-tier model—a mutual risk fund by shipowners and Oil Marketing Companies, backed by reinsurance support from General Insurance Corporation of India and the Government. The move will reduce dependency on foreign hubs like London and Switzerland, conserve forex, and strengthen India’s maritime trade ecosystem, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The pool promotes self-reliance, sanctions resilience, and sovereign control, while developing domestic marine underwriting and claims expertise, the government said.
There is high dependence of Indian vessels on International Group of Protection and Indemnity (IGP&I) Club for P&I insurance covering third-party liabilities like Oil pollution liability, Wreck removal, Cargo damage, Crew injury and repatriation, Collision liabilities and so on. Accordingly, there was a need for a domestic maritime risk covering pool to maintain sovereignty and continuity of trade in face of withdrawal of coverage due to sanctions or due to geopolitical tensions, the government said in a statement.
The Government said it has approved formation of ‘Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool’ (BMI pool) for Indian flagged or controlled vessels or vessels destined to or starting from India, backed by a sovereign guarantee.
The pool would cover all maritime risks like Hull and Machinery, Cargo, P&I and War risk. The policies will be issued by insurers that are Pool members, using the combined underwriting capacity of the Pool, which would be around Rs.950 crore. The Pool will help to manage liability insurance locally, tailored to Indian Shipping conditions and regulatory requirements, develop specialized Marine underwriting, claims management and legal expertise within India.
Further, a Governing Body Constituted for this pool would oversee the formation and functioning of the pool. The rationale for providing a sovereign guarantee to the proposed domestic insurance entity is rooted in the objectives of strengthening self-reliance, sanctions resilience and ensuring greater sovereign control, the government said.
