The Clubs are associations of shipowners and charterers, owned and controlled by the insured shipowner or charterer “Members”. They operate on a non-profit mutual basis, that is to say the Members pool their resources together in order to meet losses suffered by each individual Member. The basic principle is that the contributions (“calls”) paid by the Membership in relation to any single year should be sufficient to meet all the claims, reinsurance and administrative expenses of the Club for that year. The mutual system is therefore very different from most of other forms of insurance, where the aim of the insurance company in accepting business is to make a profit for its shareholders.
Fourteen non-profit making clubs come under the umbrella of the International Group of P & I Clubs. They have taken after 90% of the world’ s shipping, insuring them against claims for damages or marine accidents. Homepage: www.standard-club.com