India’s Bharat Maritime Insurance (BMI) Pool has received its first claim after a vessel sustained damage in a drone attack in the Black Sea, according to local media reports.
The claim, the first major test for the government-backed initiative, is currently being assessed, with surveyors deployed to evaluate the extent of the damage and determine the eventual payout, The Economic Times reported, citing industry sources.
In a LinkedIn post, Hari Radhakrishnan, Regional Director at First Policy Insurance Brokers, said the pool remains in its early stages and has yet to build the premium base typically needed to absorb large losses.
If the claim is a total loss or constructive total loss involving both the vessel and cargo, BMI Pool’s payout could be a significant one.
“Like any pooling arrangement, it may take several years to achieve critical mass,” Radhakrishnan said. “The challenge is that maritime war risks differ from terrorism or nuclear pools. While terrorism and nuclear losses may be severe, claim frequency is generally very low, allowing reserves to build steadily. In the current geopolitical environment, war-related losses can be both frequent and severe.”
The handling of the first claim will be closely watched by India’s insurance and shipping sectors, as the pool looks to demonstrate its ability to respond to incidents in volatile maritime zones. Established in May, the BMI Pool aims to provide Indian shipowners with domestic insurance capacity for vessels, cargo and war risks in high-risk maritime regions, reducing reliance on overseas insurers.
The initiative is backed by local (re)insurers, including General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) and The New India Assurance Company, which collectively provide underwriting capacity of up to US$100m for individual risks. For losses exceeding this threshold, the government has provided a sovereign guarantee of ₹129.8bn (US$1.35bn).
Radhakrishnan noted that, if significant enough, initial claims may have to be paid out of the pool’s authorised capital contributed by GIC Re and the member insurers. “But not all of these participating insurers are in great financial shape to keep footing the bill and can find it stressful,” he said.
