Britannia P&I Launches Tr(B) Americas
Tindall Riley & Co Ltd./ the Managers of Britannia P&I announced that on 5th January 2023 it acquired its former exclusive correspondent, B Americas P&I LLC, and has renamed it TR(B) Americas Inc. Going forward TR(B) Americas, which is based at 1 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, will operate as a full regional hub of the Managers. B Americas was opened on 30 March 2020 under the leadership of Mike Unger, who continues to head up the newly formed TR(B) Americas.
TR(B) Americas will continue to provide support to all Britannia Members requiring assistance with claims and other matters in the Americas. TR(B) Americas has recently expanded and is now a five-strong team dedicated to providing exceptional service to Britannia P&I’s Members in the region and with the aim of facilitating the growth of the Club’s membership base in the Americas.
The Americas are an increasingly important market for Britannia P&I and account for approximately 5% of its entered owned tonnage. The launch of TR(B) Americas reinforces Britannia P&I’s commitment to the local market and its aim of continuing to strengthen the service provided to its Members.
TR(B) Americas joins Britannia P&I’s and its Managers’ global footprint, with regional hubs also in Denmark, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore as well as Exclusive Correspondents in Korea, Spain and Taiwan. Those hubs reflect the Club’s strategy of providing its Members with a local personalised service backed by a global presence in the market.
“We are delighted that TR(B) Americas has now joined the Britannia P&I network of regional hubs and we are confident it will continue, under Mike Unger’s guidance, to enhance the service provided to our Members across the region, as well as serve as a platform for future business opportunities”, says Mike Hall, Deputy CEO of Tindall Riley (Britannia) Ltd.
“I am very pleased that the B Americas office is now a regional hub and, along with the rest of the team consisting of Charles Johnson, Marcela Pizarro, Bryant Yap and John Meyers, we look forward to assisting Members based in the Americas and the worldwide membership who require support with issues here,” says Mike Unger, Director, TR(B) Americas.
Photo (from left): Mike Unger, John Meyers, Marcela Pizzaro, Bryant Yap, Charles Johnson
2022 Financial Statements – Britannia P&I confirms results
The Group underwriting result was negative again this year, with net claims incurred in excess of net earned premiums. The investment performance this year produced a much smaller gain than in the recent past after some dramatic movements in markets in the fourth quarter. Total calls and premiums were higher than in the prior year, at USD216.9m compared with USD200.1m. There was again no general rate increase at the 2021/22 renewal, but individual Members’ rates were adjusted to reflect their claims record and risk profile where necessary. Reinsurance costs were higher primarily due to rate increases on the International Group’s reinsurance programme. In October 2021 there was a further capital distribution to Members of USD25.0m.
Claims incurred in the financial year were significantly higher than the prior year. Retained claims incurred in the 2021/22 policy year at the 12-month stage were USD143.9m, slightly higher than the 2020/21 policy year at the same stage. 16 claims that are currently expected to cost more than USD1.0m were reported, with an aggregate estimate of USD46.4m. This is lower than the prior policy year, which saw 20 incidents reported with an aggregate cost of USD63.4m. Pool claims had a spike in the first half of the year but settled down after that, albeit they stand at USD487.0m which is a record high at the 12-month stage of a policy year, surpassing the 2020/21 total of USD478.1m at the same stage. In total, 11 incidents had been reported compared to 22 in the prior year. The development of prior year claims has generally continued to see improvement, but the 2020/21 policy year has seen a number of late notifications that has reduced the overall improvement and led to an increase in the net provision this year. Nevertheless, USD45.4m was released from the claims provisions held in respect of those years.
Andrew Cutler, Britannia’s CEO, commented as follows:“Britannia is enjoying continued growth, thanks predominantly to the loyalty of Members, with entered tonnage at a record high. Reflecting this growth, the Managers continue to invest across all functions and in all of its regional hubs. Key to Britannia’s strength remains the provision of quality service, while maintaining its financial strength.”
2021 financial statements – Britannia P&I announces satisfactory results
Key points
Overall surplus after tax of USD37.0m
• Strong investment return of USD59.0m, equivalent to 7.2%• Negative underwriting result with net claims significantly in excess of net premiums• Increase in free reserves of USD27.0m• USD10.0m capital distribution in October 2020• Strong 2021/22 renewal with growth rate target attained and increases in owned and chartered tonnage• Part VII Transfer at 20 February moved the majority of the historic book from the UK to Luxembourg• In March 2021 S&P affirmed the rating of A (Strong) with a Stable outlook for the reorganised and redomiciled Group• Britannia’s robust operating model has maintained service standards to Members despite widespread remote working
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Total calls and premiums for 2020/21 were marginally lower than the previous year. The underwriting result was a deficit of USD20.5m before allowing for the investment return allocated to the technical account. The strong investment performance achieved for the financial year ended resulted in an overall surplus for the year of USD37.0m after tax. In October 2020 there was a capital distribution to Members of USD10.0m. The total capital resources of the Group therefore increased by USD27m to USD449m at 20 February 2021. Additional assets totalling USD177.8m held by Boudicca Insurance Company Limited are available to Britannia to meet future claims.
CLAIMS
Claims incurred in the financial year increased to USD118.3m (USD111.7m in the previous year). Retained claims incurred in the 2020/21 policy year at the 12-month stage were USD136.6m, marginally higher than the 2019/20 policy year at the same time. 20 claims that are currently expected to cost more than USD1.0m were reported, with an aggregate estimate of USD63.4m. This is very similar to the previous year, which also saw 20 incidents reported with an aggregate cost of USD69.5m. However, claims on the Pool in 2020/21 were significantly higher, with the 12-month figure at a record high of USD478.1m compared to USD355.4m in 2019/20. There were improvements in earlier policy years allowing releases of USD72.5m from the claims provisions held in respect of those years which helped to offset the increased provisions required in respect of the 2020/21 Pool position.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
Anthony Firmin, Britannia’s Chairman, commented as follows:
“Despite the challenges of remote working and limited opportunities to meet Members face to face, caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Britannia has been able to maintain its high standards of service to Members. During this period, the regional hubs have played a vital role in staying in touch with our Members and providing uninterrupted service. Added to this, our recently upgraded IT system has further strengthened Britannia’s robust operating model.
Britannia starts the new year with record tonnage after finalising the difficult process of negotiating the renewal remotely. While I welcome our new Members, the club’s growth comes mainly from existing or returning Members. For me, this is the real confirmation that Britannia provides a service which is appreciated and valued by our Members. Britannia’s financial strength is evidenced by the S&P “A” rating with a continuing “stable” outlook and our ability to return excess capital to Members when this is appropriate.”
* Britannia benefits from a reinsurance contract with Boudicca Insurance Company Limited and in addition to Britannia’s free reserves shown above Boudicca’s surplus assets are available to meet Britannia’s future claims. These were USD177.8 m at 20 February 2021 (USD172.3 m at 2020)
** In accordance with the International Group Agreement 2020 Britannia is required to disclose the average expense ratio for its P&I business for the past five years. This measures all of Britannia’s costs, except those related directly to the management of claims, as a percentage of call, premium and investment income for a five year period.
Britannia P&I Supports Sailors’ Society Wellness At Sea Awareness Campaign
Britannia P&I is delighted to announce that, as part of its recently launched BSafe initiative, it is supporting Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea awareness campaign. The campaign was developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis and aims to increase awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues, motivate crew and provide practical support to help seafarers through challenging times.
The awareness campaign, which reflects Sailors’ Society’s experience in wellness training and supporting mental health at sea, will be rolled-out by Britannia to its Members throughout 2021. A variety of resources and materials will be made available on Britannia’s BSafe website, including podcasts, videos and posters. Each part of the campaign includes ‘seafarer activities’ which are designed to encourage seafarers to engage and take active steps to support their mental health and general wellbeing.
Britannia’s BSafe initiative is a proactive safety campaign targeted at seafarers on board its Members’ ships. Under the three main themes of onboard safety, seafarer health and onboard security, the aim of the campaign is to help influence behaviours and prevent onboard injuries and losses. By sharing relevant information and developing initiatives to support various aspects of onboard operations, the objective is to help Britannia’s Members’ crews to be safe. Crew welfare and wellbeing is particularly relevant at this time given the extra demands and pressures under which seafarers are operating due to the global pandemic.
“As seafarer wellbeing is such a critical issue and a key theme for our BSafe campaign, we felt that Sailors’ Society’s Wellness at Sea awareness programme represented the perfect opportunity to support a worthy charitable initiative and supplement our campaign,” said Graham Wilson, Divisional Director, Loss Prevention at Britannia. “We shall be rolling out the Wellness at Sea materials as part of BSafe campaign over the course of the year, with a new module being introduced every month. We encourage our Members to make their seafarers aware of the campaign and use the available resources to support their own efforts to assist their crew members to keep mentally fit.” he added.
Sara Baade, Sailors’ Society’s CEO said: “In these challenging times, it is particularly important that we continue our vital aid to seafarers and their families. We’re delighted that Britannia P&I have recognised this and have chosen to care for seafarers’ mental health by partnering on our Wellness at Sea Awareness Campaign and rolling support out to crews via their members.The most important element of the Wellness at Sea Campaign is to let seafarers know that they are not alone, with the emphasis on where they can seek help if needed.”