A scheme has been launched that will enable seafarers to check the insurance cover offered by their employer.
Specialist marine insurance intermediary Seacurus has created the Seafarer Assistance Card scheme, which will provide mariners with access to the CrewSEACURE web portal where they can check for cover. It will also assist them in providing “timely notification of claims” under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), the company said.
The cards are personal to the seafarer and are issued by the crewing company when that individual takes up a first position at sea.
Thomas Brown, Seacurus MD, said: “Under the soon-to-be implemented MLC 2006 amendments, each MLC-compliant vessel will be required to carry a certificate of financial responsibility which provides seafarers with details of the financial protection the owners have put in place, as well as the details of who to call in the event of a claim.
“The same is not true for crewing companies, which, as policyholders, keep the master policy in their office, and evidence of cover is not readily available to the seafarers it serves to protect. In the interests of transparency, we felt it important that seafarers had their own evidence of cover, coupled with user-friendly direct access to the underlying security.
“Time is often of the essence. This is where the Seafarer Assistance Cards perform a vital function. They provide the seafarer with access to the CrewSEACURE web portal to check for cover and help them provide timely notification of claims.”
Seacurus manages the financial security requirements for an ever-increasing number of seafarer recruitment and placement services and crew management companies.
Full details of the newly developed web portal can be found at www.crewseacure.com.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
