The two-week ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US and Israel may signal regional stability and important first steps towards a gradual normalisation of flows.
These comments were made by Willis Head of Marine in Asia Lewis Hart, which centred on the implications for the shipping sector following latest developments.
Mr Hart said while the first visible movements “are likely to be operators repositioning and finally exiting the Strait of Hormuz after more than a month of delay”, activity is also expected to be restarted in a measured manner rather than all at once.
He also highlighted that from an insurance perspective, additional war risk premiums are unlikely to reduce immediately. Despite this, he mentioned that there is an already-existing scope “for meaningful easing through the wider use of commercial levers such as enhanced no-claims bonuses and other structured concessions across both hull and cargo”.
“Underwriting will remain disciplined and assessed on a case-by-case basis, but capacity is available and deployable,” said Mr Hart.
“While certain caveats and warranties will still apply, including considerations around US or Israeli exposure and, in some cases, Iranian authority permissions, the overall direction is improving.”
He also said, “Assuming continued stability, we would expect insurance providers terms, appetite and pricing flexibility to progressively follow.”