1. Presentation of the Subject
The objective of this thesis is to elaborate on the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan’s cover for losses caused by faulty material and error in design.
The maritime market is continuously faced with new technology and solutions. The extent of the technology can vary from minor changes in existing machinery or equipment, to more ground-braking technology encouraged by the green wave currently affecting the business. These new technologies may cause both faulty material and errors in design. Even though the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan is regularly revised and amended, it is impossible to take every new solution into account. Hence, it is important to get a broad understanding of how these perils are handled in the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan, as this will ensure that the contract can be used in a dynamic manner in relation to new technologies.
The thesis will focus on two perils: faulty material and error in design, and discuss how these perils are regulated in the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan. The primary focus of the thesis will be Cl. 12-4, which is the main provision relating to damage caused by faulty material or error in design under the hull insurance. The thesis will also discuss how a damage caused by faulty material or error in design will affect the insurance cover in the event of a total loss. Other types of insurance, such as war insurance and insurance for fishing vessels, mobile offshore units and builder’s risk will not be discussed in the thesis.
There are two perspectives that will be central throughout the thesis. Firstly, the thesis will seek to analyze the cover for losses caused by faulty material or error in design in light of the underlying considerations and principles behind the rules in the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan.
Secondly, the thesis will use the internal structure and logic of the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan to get a better understanding of the insurance cover for losses caused by faulty material and error in design. The Nordic Marine Insurance Plan is constructed as a balanced and consolidated insurance contract, where the provisions are meant to complement each other and provide a logical insurance cover. Hence, this perspective will be central in order to understand the full extent of cover for losses caused by faulty material and error in design.
In the following, the relevant legal sources for the thesis will be presented in Chapter 2, followed by an introduction to the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan, and its structure and the scope of cover in Chapter 3. Then, the thesis will follow the structure and logic of the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan and firstly discuss faulty material and error in design as perils in light of the contract in Chapter 4, followed by a discussion about the losses covered under the hull insurance in Chapter 5. Lastly, some finishing remarks will be made in Chapter 6.