TT CLUB ANNOUNCES LOSSES, RAISES PRICES

TT CLUB ANNOUNCES LOSSES, RAISES PRICES    The Through Transport Club, the insurance mutual for ship operators, ports and other shipping-related businesses, will increase policy renewal premiums across the board by 20 percent.
   A spokesman for the club said that it must respond to adverse pressures, and raise premiums to a “sustainable level.”
   The club reported cumulative underwriting losses of $50 million over the four years from 1997 to 2000.
   “These results reflect increasing levels of liability, litigation and claims within the transport industry, combined with competitive pressures in the global insurance market created by over-capacity and price competition,” said David Thomson, chairman of the TT Club.
   The TT Club also announced that it would introduce a 30-day cessation clause in all policies to enable it to “respond effectively in the event of unsustainable change in the cost or availability of reinsurance.”
   “Since the events of Sept. 11th…, there has been a dramatic contraction of capacity in the reinsurance market and rates are now expected to rise sharply during the next twelve months,” the club warned. However, the TT Club stressed that it had “no direct exposure to claims arising from the Sept. 11th attacks in the U.S.”
   The TT Club said that it cannot rely on investment returns to support underwriting results for the foreseeable future.