The NNPC recently renewed her K&R insurance and that makes it a perfect time to point out this insurance, for which the basic coverage is free of charge for our members, once more. The K&R insurance covers all the “normal” events, like kidnapping, hijacking, extortion and cyber-attacks. In addition to these events it is also possible to insure loss of hire due to a hijacking. The policy in principle provides worldwide cover, although there are some exemptions, the so-called “Areas of Perceived Enhanced Risk” also known as the JWLA.
Since the JWLA is updated regularly, it is important to know when a certain update comes into force as the update will be included in the policy after seven days. Despite the fact that the updates will hardly be surprises, for example Russia, the Sea of Azov and parts of the Black sea last year and Sudan this year, we do encourage keeping an eye on these updates.
For many of the areas mentioned in the JWLA piracy is not a (considerable) risk and for these area it usually is enough to inform us about the fact that an insured vessel will cross such an area. There are some exceptions though, areas in which the Kidnap & Ransom risk is high, like the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Aden/Indian Ocean. These areas are not included in the standard cover but can be included against additional terms and premium. You can contact our Underwriting department for further information. Finally, there are some areas that can not be included, these are:
- Area’s within 100 nautical miles of the Socotra archipelago;
- Area’s within 40 nautical miles of the north of Somalia;
- Area’s within 250 nautical miles of the East Coast of Somalia.
If there are any questions, please contact our Underwriting department.
