American Club has reported what it described as “encouraging year-on-year growth in premium and tonnage over the recent renewal period”.
Premium income for the Club’s Class I (mutual P&I) entries over the year was 17% greater than a year earlier, with concomitant tonnage growth of 25% over the period. Class II (mutual FD&D) also grew in size. Class III (charterers) business was said to be “poised to increase by about 10% in 2023 by comparison with the previous twelve months”.
Eagle Ocean Marine, the Club’s fixed premium facility, which serves the operators of smaller vessels in local and regional trades, strengthened its growing market position in a “positive renewal season”, the Club said.
American Club effected an overall increase in expiring premium of 10% for the 2023 policy year, together with uplifts in certain deductibles.
This resulted in a just-over 9% cash rise on renewing business, with increases in deductibles over and above those generally prescribed, particularly through the application of higher annual aggregate deductibles in several sectors, providing an additional cash value of about 2% overall.
The Club renewed about 95% of its expiring tonnage over the renewal itself; its renewing premium for 2023 was almost exactly the same as the expiring volume, implying an increase in the average rate per ton on the renewing portfolio of just under 8% by comparison with that of 12 months earlier.
Tom Hamilton, Chief Underwriting Officer of SCB, Inc, the Managers of American Club, said that year-on-year tonnage entered for mutual P&I risks grew by 25% to just over 25m gt, with an increase in annualized premium to about $108m.
In total the Club entered policy year 2023/24 with a premium income in excess of $135m, which Hamilton described as “an encouraging result providing a sound platform for further expansion over the months and years ahead”.
SCB CEO Dorothea Ioannou said that, while business conditions remain challenging in many respects, the Club and its Managers are sure that the positive results of this renewal will enable further development of the Club’s market position in the future.” The Club said that it was “embracing the future with optimism”.