[ London Club Advocates Full Collision Liability Cover ]

The London P&I Club has reminded its members that it is able to offer
full collision liability cover as a quicker and more cost-effective me
thod of settling collision liability claims than that which has tradit
ionally been employed in the market.
Collision liability risks have traditionally been written in a split m
arket-one-fourth with the P&I clubs, and three-fourths under th Runnin
g Down Clause(RDC) with hull underwriters in the commercial market. In
recent years, however, many of the clubs- including the London Club-h
ave been offering four-fourths RDC cover as a natural extension of the
protection offered under the mutual umbrella. And more and more owner
s and operators have been availing themselves of this facility.
Writing in the latest edition of its London Club News, the Club explai
ns that there are a number of inherent advantages in having full four-
fourths RDC cover with the mutual market. Difficulties can sometimes b
e encountered with the nature of counter-securities put up by commerci
al insurers in the event of a collision. If the collision liability ri
sk is placed wholly with the Club, such problems do not arise. Similar
ly, there is no need to recover commercial underwriters’ share of col
lision claims which, by implication, makes the whole process of settli
ng collision liability claims much quicker and cheaper.
Members who would like to known more about collision liability coverag
e are advised to contract the underwriting department, or to make thei
r interest known during discussions leading up to the February 20, 199
8 renewal.