Costa Concordia likely worst maritime insurance loss
Insurers suggert that it could end up shouldering $1 billion in losses The wrecked cruiseliner Costa Concordia could turn out to be the biggest insured loss in maritime history, analysts and industry experts said on Monday, with some suggesting insurers and mutual societies could end up shouldering $1 billion in losses.The Costa, a multistory liner carrying over 4,000 passengers and crew, ran aground and capsized off Italy's west coast at the weekend, killing at least five and injuring dozens.In the complex world of maritime insurance, there will be two issues to contend with: the clubs of cruise ship companies that insure each other for personal injuries, shipwrecks and environmental damage; and the consortium of insurers who underwrite the ship itself.The ship is insured for 405 million euros ($513 million) by insurers including XL, RSA and Generali, industry sources said.An RSA spokesperson said the company's exposure to the disaster was below 10 million euros, while a spokesperson for Generali said the impact on the company would be small.XL's team at the Lloyd's of London insurance market has been working on the disaster since the weekend but has yet to come to any firm conclusions on cost or liability issues, according to ...
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