(Re)in Summary
- India’s Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool had issued 3,000 cargo war, 92 hull war-risk and three P&I policies by 7 September 2026.
- War-risk premiums have fallen about 35-40% since the peak of the West Asia conflict, the government says.
- The pool, launched in May, has capacity of up to ₹139.1bn (US$1.5bn), with a ₹129.8bn sovereign guarantee covering claims above US$100m.
- New India Assurance issued the pool’s first P&I policy to Shipping Corporation of India in July.
As of 7 September, India’s Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) had issued 3,000 cargo war, 92 hull war-risk and three protection and indemnity (P&I) policies, according to a government backgrounder published by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Sunday.
War-risk insurance premiums have fallen by about 35-40% since the peak of the West Asia conflict, according to the backgrounder, which added that the pool is now “operating at full commercial scale”.
New India Assurance issued the pool’s first P&I policy, covering Shipping Corporation of India’s third-party liabilities, on 30 July. New India had also written the pool’s first policy on launch day, a hull and machinery war-risk cover for a Hoger Offshore and Marine vessel sailing through conflict zones.
Indian shipowners rely almost entirely on foreign P&I clubs, chiefly the 12 members of the International Group of P&I Clubs, which insure about 87% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage. India pays US$45-60m a year in P&I premiums to foreign providers.
“The Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool marks a major step in India’s maritime financial independence,” PIB said, adding that the pool’s role is “to ensure credible operations, competitive pricing, and reliable claims handling for stakeholders”.
First approved on 18 April this year and then launched on 12 May, the pool has capacity of up to ₹139.1bn (US$1.5bn) across hull and machinery, cargo, P&I and war risks, with a ₹129.8bn sovereign guarantee covering claims above US$100m.
PIB said the pool’s medium-term focus is on “strengthening human capital, legal frameworks, and reinsurance partnerships”. In the long term, it aims to become “a regional anchor for maritime insurance in the Indian Ocean Region”, with India recognised as a “provider of financial services and a shaper of maritime risk norms”.
GIC Re contributed ₹4bn of the pool’s ₹9.27bn initial underwriting capacity at launch in May. By June, the pool had cut premiums by 27% for hull war risks and up to 48% for cargo war covers, with more than 80 policies issued, officials said at a stakeholder workshop in Mumbai. The pool received its first claim in July after a drone attack in the Black Sea damaged a vessel, according to local media reports.
