Despite a generally positive report for the first half of
the 2022-23 policy year, Group Club Steamship Mutual has announced a 7.5%
general increase for the policy year 2023-24. Steamship Mutual is the first of
the Group Clubs to announce its pricing intention for next year.
The Club noted that its own incurred claims for the first
half of the policy year had been less than budgeted, with no material claims
arising from Covid-19. In addition there have been no reported claims on the IG
Pool for the first six months of the policy year. Steamship said that, while this
was no guarantee that there would not be any claims for the full year, such a
benign first half made it unlikely that Pool claims would be as high as they
had been in recent years. It also noted that the development of prior year IG
Pool claims had been greater than expected.
For /22 and prior years at six months the overall
development of the Club’s prior year claims was higher than projected,
primarily because of the deterioration in Pool claims.
For investments in the seven months ending September 2022
the Club recorded a loss of 4.4 %, excluding currency movements, amounting to a
loss of $51m. This loss is currently mainly unrealized as it relates largely to
changes in interest rates suppressing the price of already held bonds.
Steamship Mutual said that, while underwriting
performance for the first six months in /23 was better than expected, the
Board recognized the need for caution when projecting claims levels. The Board has
decided that there should be a general increase of 7.5% in premium ratings for
all classes of business.
As is usual, the Managers have been instructed to correct
individual Member premium ratings where necessary and to pass on to Members any
adjustments in the costs of the IG reinsurance programme.
The Board has also ordered a 10% increase in Class 1
P&I deductibles to apply to all deductibles which are $50,000 or less.
The Board noted the Club’s continuing financial strength
and robust capital position, but concluded that “it would not be appropriate to
order a capital distribution at this time, given the volatility that effects
the Club’s investments.”
The Directors decided to maintain the level of release
calls, for mutual Class 1 P&I and Class 2 FD&D entries, as follows:
The release call for the /24 policy year will be set
at 15%.
Steamship Mutual reported continued growth in the Club’s
owned entry, which was up by 3.5% in tonnage terms for the period February 20th to September 20th 2022, increasing the owned entry to over 114m gt
and the combined owned and chartered entry to over 200m gt.
