A better-than-expected financial result has been delivered by the International Group of protection-and-indemnity (P&I) clubs.
The 13 member clubs made a collective surplus of just over $124m against expectations a few months ago that there might be a near to break-even result. Eight clubs rang up a collective profit of $148m with the three best performers -Gard, the Shipowners’ Club and Skuld – accounting for over 80% of this. As can be seen in the table, there were five clubs in the red, producing a total loss of $23.6m.
So overall the 13 member clubs of the International Group made a net surplus of $124.3m, although this has to be qualified by a Gard return of premium. Despite notable casualties on both the P&I and hull side, Gard’s surplus of $51m was sufficiently good for it to declare a $15m “dividend” to the shipowner members of its P&I club who are the owners of the business. So if this discount is included, the overall profit of the group clubs falls to $109m.
Although this profit is a fraction of the near $700m rung up by the group clubs through the previous year, this was an exceptional outcome boosted by strong investment returns. The Standard & Poor’s rating agency predicted a collective result of plus or minus $25m around the break-even point in February. Although the investment results of the clubs are quite variable, the performance has been better than expected. The continuing spate of newbuilding deliveries also appears not to be eroding club income as much as might be expected.
The International Group clubs have a no-undercutting-at-renewal agreement that limits price competition on existing ships but there is a free market when it comes to bidding for new ships and as a result they pay significantly lower premiums.
The American Club, the last of the clubs to report, incurred a loss of $3.4m through calendar year 2011 mainly through an unrealised writedown on its investment portfolio, so like the Swedish Club it suffered in comparison to the remaining clubs that have 20 February accounting. The New York-based mutual has more than overcome the loss with a profit of $6m through the first three months of the year to lift its free reserve to $66.2m. The American Club made a small operating profit but there was an unrealised investment loss of $5.8m that pushed the club into the red. The club-backed fixed-premium facility, Eagle Ocean Marine, has got off to a good start, according to chief executive Joe Hughes.
BY JIM MULRENAN LONDON
29 June 2012
保赔协会财务业绩胜预期
国际保赔集团协会公布的财务结果好于预期
保赔协会集团13家会员协会的集体盈余超过1.24亿美元，与几个月前的预期相反，接近收支平衡。8家协会的集体盈余达到1.48亿美元，其中表现最好的三家为Gard, the Shipowners’ Club和Skuld，占总盈余80%以上。从表格中可以看到，有5家协会亏损，总计损失2360万美元。
如果不计算Gard协会退回给会员的保费，13家国际保赔集团协会总盈余为1.243亿美元。Gard协会，尽管保赔险和船壳险下都有重大事故，仍然取得5100万美元的盈余。协会向其船东会员派发了1500万的”红利” 。如果将这一数据计算在内，保赔协会集团总盈余降至1.09亿美元。
这个预期外的结果得益于强劲投资回报，尽管这一盈余数值只占集团协会前一年近7亿美元收入的一小部分。2月，标准普尔评级机构预测，保赔协会集团的集体（财务）结果位于盈亏平衡点上下2500万美元。尽管协会投资效益相当多变，但业绩好于预期。连续的新造船交船，并没有如预期那样对协会收入产生重大影响。
国际保赔集团协会有关续保不降低保费的协议（no-undercutting-at-renewal agreement），限制现有船舶的保费竞争，但对于新船来说，却是一个自由市场，导致新船以相当低的保费投保。
美国保赔协会是提交报告最晚的一家。协会2011年损失340万美元，主要原因是未变现投资组合。与其他以2月20日作为财务结点的协会相比，美国会与Swedish协会都受到财务结算日期的影响。今年前3个月，总部位于纽约的美国会以600万美元利润的业绩，将协会自由储备金提高到6620万美元。美国会有小幅的保费盈利，但580万美元的未变现投资，导致协会财务为亏损状态。Eagle Ocean Marine, 是一家由美国会支持的固定费率保险机构，据其首席执行官Joe Hughes透露，该机构已获得了开门红。
JIM MULRENAN 伦敦
2012年6月29日
