and probably within minutes of the tragedy unfolding. As in 1912, initial reporting is likely to be inaccurate but as the saying goes – news is “never wrong for long”.


In the current context, passengers, crew and rescuers would immediately film, record and share pictures, videos and messages on social platforms. And if close to shore – as with Costa Concordia – bystanders would instantly become ‘amateur’ journalists. Added to this, the array of online vessel tracking solutions makes a maritime incident transparent and visible, encouraging comment and speculation from all quarters. Consequently, the media would be awash with armchair experts and sleuths, all eager to give their opinions.


Marine underwriters tell us that the chances of a vessel suffering a total loss in the very early 1900s was around 1%. Today that risk has dropped to 0.05%. Titanic was insured for £1 million (£115 million in today’s money) and the premium levied was


0.75%. Such was the hype surrounding the vessel’s unsinkability that the market felt able to charge a premium that was less than the probability of the vessel being lost. More than 60 London insurers were involved in underwriting the risk and many of those are still in business to this day.


Interestingly, vessels today are insured in roughly the same way as they were in Titanic’s day – through co-insurance and with much of the physical risk being covered by H&M underwriters and the liabilities being taken by the P&I Clubs. The difference, however, is that underwriters have developed expertise and have many more tools at their disposal to more accurately assess and price risk. Safety has unquestionably improved, and lessons are learnt each time a major incident occurs, but human error is still considered to be the primary cause of many marine casualties.


H&M insurance paid out the full £1 million on the Titanic claim and P&I paid a further US$665,000 to families


who had lost loved ones. Today, improvements to insurance cover make it easier for individuals to claim for losses and damages although in some jurisdictions passenger vessel operators have the ability to impose limits. This gives operators more certainty as claims can be both limited and time-barred. But in some regions, such as the US, no limits of liability are set and punitive damages may also be awarded.


And so, 109 years on from the loss of what is probably the world’s best- known ship, a lot has changed, but much has also stayed constant. The way we insure maritime risk and protect passengers’ interests has significantly improved, but is largely unchanged at its core. Undoubtedly ships are safer and that is a result of better design, regulation, and enhanced training. And we are much better prepared to respond to a major incident at sea. But should the worst happen today, the world will be watching, reporting and commentating on every decision taken and every action undertaken.


“Today, a tragedy of Titanic’s proportions would attract sensational media headlines across the world...”


The Report • June 2021 • Issue 96 | 119


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