Category: Loss adjusting · Reviewed by Chrissie Anderson, Client Executive · Last reviewed 2026-06-11
A marine loss adjuster is a loss adjuster who specialises in claims arising under marine insurance policies, including hull and machinery, cargo, energy, marine liability and protection and indemnity.
Category: Loss adjusting Also known as: Marine adjuster, Cargo loss adjuster, Hull loss adjuster Related concepts: Loss adjuster, Marine Insurance Act 1906, Cargo insurance, Lloyd’s of London
A marine loss adjuster is a loss adjuster specialising in claims arising under the principal classes of marine insurance: hull and machinery (the vessel itself), cargo (goods in transit), marine liability (collision, third-party damage and pollution), protection and indemnity (P&I), and energy (offshore and onshore oil, gas and renewables). The discipline is one of the oldest in loss adjusting, predating the formation of CILA itself and rooted in the long history of marine commerce centred on the City of London and the major UK ports.
Marine adjusting work spans the full range of marine perils, including grounding, stranding, collision, fire, explosion, heavy weather damage, theft, piracy, war risks, contamination, refrigeration breakdown, and improper stowage. It also covers loss of cargo through theft and damage during land legs of multi-modal voyages. Marine adjusters work for both insurers and reinsurers, and frequently coordinate with average adjusters, surveyors, salvors and lawyers in jurisdictions around the world.
The marine specialism is distinguished from other adjusting disciplines by its strong international dimension, the long history and bespoke character of its policy wordings (such as the Institute Cargo Clauses and the International Hull Clauses), the importance of general average and salvage, and the use of admiralty law and the Marine Insurance Act 1906. London remains the global centre for marine insurance, and many of the most experienced marine adjusters operate from offices in the City and nearby, often within or alongside Lloyd’s broker and adjusting firms.
The principal statute is the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (MIA 1906), which codifies the common law of marine insurance and remains the foundation of UK marine practice. Important provisions include section 17 (utmost good faith), sections 18 to 20 (disclosure and representations — modified for many policies by the Insurance Act 2015), section 33 (warranties), sections 39 to 41 (seaworthiness), sections 55 to 66 (perils and proximate cause), sections 66 to 78 (general average and salvage), and section 79 (subrogation).
The Insurance Act 2015 made significant modifications to the MIA 1906 for non-consumer marine policies, including the abolition of the harsh strict-discharge consequence of warranty breach (now replaced by suspension of cover during the breach) and the recasting of the duty of utmost good faith as a duty of fair presentation. Marine adjusters must apply the modified regime to losses arising under post-12 August 2016 marine policies.
For general average and salvage, the York-Antwerp Rules (most recently the 2016 version) govern the apportionment of general average between vessel and cargo interests. The Association of Average Adjusters administers the Rules in the UK and qualifies practising average adjusters by examination. The Salvage Convention 1989, implemented in the UK by Schedule 11 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, governs salvage rights and reward.
The Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Convention 1976 (and 1996 Protocol), implemented by Schedule 7 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, provides for limitation of shipowner liability. The Athens Convention 1974 (as amended) applies to passenger claims.
For pollution liability, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 (CLC 1992) and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 (Fund Convention) provide compulsory cover; UK law implements these by Chapters III to IV of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
The FCA’s ICOBS 8.1 applies to UK-authorised marine insurers and their adjusters. Where marine business is written through Lloyd’s, the Lloyd’s Claims Scheme and Lloyd’s Minimum Standards MS11 (Claims) and MS5 (Underwriting) apply, together with the rules of the International Underwriting Association (IUA) for non-Lloyd’s London market business.
Marine claims are typically notified through a chain of brokers and intermediaries. A typical cargo claim may be notified by the policyholder’s freight forwarder to the placing broker, who notifies the lead underwriter at Lloyd’s or in the company market, who then instructs the adjuster. For hull and machinery claims, the shipowner’s broker will typically notify the lead hull underwriter, who may instruct an adjuster, a surveyor and a salvage assessor independently.
The adjuster’s first task is to obtain the underlying documents — the bill of lading, the charterparty, the policy, the survey report, the master’s report, the deck and engine logs, the cargo manifest and the relevant photographs. For hull losses, the adjuster will work with a marine surveyor — often a member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) or the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) — to assess the physical damage and the cost of repair. For cargo losses, the adjuster will work with a cargo surveyor at the destination port to evaluate the loss and recommend salvage or disposal.
Quantification depends on the policy wording. Hull policies typically provide indemnity on a repair basis or, where the cost of repair exceeds the constructive total loss threshold, on a constructive total loss basis. Cargo policies typically provide indemnity on a cif (cost, insurance, freight) basis with a profit uplift, subject to the Institute Cargo Clauses (A), (B) or (C). Energy policies follow a bespoke schedule of values for platforms, wells and pipelines.
General average is a particular feature of marine adjusting. When a vessel and cargo are subject to a peril and a voluntary sacrifice or extraordinary expenditure is incurred for the common benefit, all interests must contribute proportionately. Average adjusters prepare the general average statement under the York-Antwerp Rules. A marine loss adjuster acting for cargo interests may also liaise with the average adjuster to ensure that the cargo’s contribution is correctly calculated and that the insured cargo owner is properly indemnified.
Settlement typically follows the lead underwriter’s agreement, with following markets bound under the Lloyd’s Claims Scheme. The adjuster’s report is the principal document on which agreement rests.
Within marine adjusting, several sub-specialisms have developed. Hull and machinery adjusters work on damage to vessels, ranging from VLCC tankers and container ships to coasters and yachts. Cargo adjusters work on goods in transit and may specialise in commodities (oil, grain, coffee, steel), refrigerated cargo, project cargo, fine art, or high-value electronics. Yacht adjusters handle pleasure craft claims, often with significant high-net-worth elements.
Energy adjusters work on offshore exploration and production losses, including platform damage, well control, blowout, evacuation and pollution. Renewables adjusters handle offshore wind farm losses under bespoke wordings including LEG (London Engineering Group) clauses for defects exclusions. P&I adjusters work on third-party claims, often via the protection and indemnity clubs that mutually insure shipowners, such as the West of England Club and the UK Club.
Average adjusters form a distinct profession with their own qualification under the Association of Average Adjusters; many average adjusters are also Chartered Loss Adjusters. The Association maintains rules of practice and admits Fellows after examination. Some marine loss adjusting firms — such as Charles Taylor Adjusting — hold prominent positions in average adjusting through dedicated teams.
War risks and political violence claims are handled by adjusters with specialist knowledge of policy clauses such as the Institute War Clauses, the Joint War Committee listed areas, and the Lloyd’s War and Civil War Risks Standing Committee declarations. Piracy claims have become a significant sub-specialism following the Somali piracy crisis of 2008-2012 and ongoing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
A container ship carrying 7,500 TEU strikes a submerged object in the North Sea and suffers significant damage to its bow plating. The master declares general average and the vessel diverts to Rotterdam for emergency repairs. The lead hull underwriter at Lloyd’s instructs a marine loss adjuster with North Sea experience; the cargo underwriter for a major shipper of automotive parts instructs a separate marine adjuster.
The hull adjuster attends the vessel in Rotterdam, instructs a class surveyor from Lloyd’s Register, and oversees the bow repair, which is completed in three weeks at a cost of £4.2 million. The vessel then sails to her original destination of Felixstowe to discharge.
The cargo adjuster works with a cargo surveyor to assess the contributory value of the insured shipment of automotive parts and to provide evidence for the general average statement, which is prepared by a Fellow of the Association of Average Adjusters. The cargo owner’s contribution to general average is £180,000, recovered under the policy’s general average clause. The cargo itself has not been damaged and is delivered intact, so no particular average claim arises.
The hull and cargo claims, together with the general average statement, are settled within nine months of the incident — a relatively fast resolution by marine standards. The adjusters’ reports form the basis of the lead underwriter’s agreement and the lead market’s binding of the following market under the Lloyd’s Claims Scheme.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-11. Next review: 2026-12-11.
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