The Association of Average Adjusters

Welcome!

Average Adjusters are expert in the law and practice of marine insurance and general average; they provide a professional and independent view on the claims arising from marine casualties. The Association of Average Adjusters was founded in 1869 with its prime objects the promotion of correct principles in the adjustment of marine insurance claims and general average, uniformity of practice amongst Average Adjusters and the maintenance of good professional conduct. Fellows of the Association have demonstrated their expertise by rigorous examination.

This Site

The purpose of this site is not only to provide information regarding the Associaiton and its Fellows, but also to act as a resource of information which wiil be of interest and assistance to its members and to the shipping and marine insurance industries, in particular. All categories of membership have access to additional resources.

Please advise the Webmaster of any errors or non-operating links.

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CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS - MAY 2012

At the Annual General Meeting of the Association on 10th May, the Chairman, Paul Silver, gave an address entitled "Stuck in the Doldrums" in which he considered whether or not the ABS Loss of Charter Hire Insurance Wording is still fit for purpose. A copy of the address can be downloaded in pdf format HERE.

 

EXAMINATIONS FOR ASSOCIATES, MARCH 2012

David Pannell, the Association’s convenor of the Examining Committee reports that the Association’s examinations (Modules 1 and 2) were held between  19th and 23rd March 2012 at examination centres in   London, Liverpool, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Athens, Karachi, Dubai, Tokyo, Taipei, Jakarta and Lagos.

A total of 46 candidates entered to sit either one or both of these modules.

11 candidates were successful in Module 1 – Marine Insurance Act 1906 and related insurance principles with 3 candidate achieving distinction level.

The following passed Module 2 – Hull and Cargo Claims:-

Richard Sarll (7KBW Barristers, London)                               - Distinction
Kelly Reeder (RSA, London)                                                      - Pass 
Jade Barker (Aon, London)                                                       - Pass
Mark Barker (Skuld 1897, London)                                         - Pass  
Andrew Slade (Charles Taylor, London)                                 -Distinction
Lukas Dauksas (limarko Shipping, Lithuania)                       -Distinction
Alan Guangquan He (London & Shanghai)                              -Pass
Ching Weng Thim (Marine Claims Office Singapore)            -Distinction      
Robena Hassan (Catlin, Singapore)                                         -Pass
Bhavika Parekh (Oriental Ins Co, Mumbai                              -Pass
Maurene Setyorini (Chas Taylor, Jakarta)                               -Pass   
George Chou (Elite Risk Services, Taipei)                               -Pass
Nikolas Rallatos (Index Ltd, Piraeus)                                       -Pass  
           
New Associate Members

The above thirteen candidates who passed module 2, above, have now satisfied the examiners in both Modules 1 and 2 and thus become Associate Members.

Currently the Association now has approximately 71 Associate members and these are increasing through examination by about 20 per year.

Congratulations to our new Associate members.

 

Have you kept in touch?

If you are a member of the Association but haven't received an email from us since 5th March 2012 it means that we do not have your current contact details. If this is the case please would you email aaa@rtiforensics.com with your full name, address and email information to enable us to update our database. If you have received an email since 5th March it means we have the correct information and you do not need to contact us.

NOTE re Allowances for interest under York Antwerp Rules

The Association has been asked by the London Insurance Market to advise concerning what discretion the adjuster has in relation to the allowance for interest in general average. The Chairman's response can be downloaded HERE.

PRESS RELEASE - 27th February 2012

DEMAND FOR AVERAGE ADJUSTERS BUOYANT DESPITE PRESSURES
“Urgent need” for more practitioners as current generation approaches retirement

Demand for the services of average adjusters remains at high levels despite increased competition and changes in the marine industry, according to the chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters (AAA) Paul Silver.

He is concerned, however, that the number of new people coming through the system will be insufficient unless more people obtain the necessary qualifications.

“It is clear from talking to colleagues that there is no shortage of work out there. The insurance industry continues to value the set of skills that average adjusters offer, which you simply cannot obtain elsewhere,” he said.

“However, I am concerned as to what will happen when people like me call it a day – will there be enough qualified practitioners to take over? There are exciting career prospects for a young average adjuster, and we urgently need more of them.”

It can take about 4/5 years of part-time study with some claims experience to pass the necessary exams and achieve the gold standard of Fellowship of the AAA. Silver estimates that the market will require around two new Fellows a year for the next decade to meet demand and replace those who are likely to cease practising.
More than fifty people have in the past few years passed the Associate exams, which can be a half-way house towards Fellowship or simply a useful qualification for anyone who wants to demonstrate knowledge of the marine and insurance industries.  

“I would encourage young people, whether or not they have taken our Associate exams, to give the career serious consideration. And I urge employers to support and assist those who decide to go down this path,” said Silver.

He added that members of the association offer informal mentoring services to aspiring average adjusters. Founded in 1869, the Association of Average Adjusters maintains professional standards and oversees qualifications for the profession.

For further details, contact Mark Baylis, Complete Communications, +44(0) 7775 693994, markbaylis@aol.com

 

PUBLICATION OF DETAILED SYLLABUSES FOR THE FELLOWSHIP EXAMS – MODULES 3, 4 AND 5

The Association is very pleased to announce the publication of a detailed syllabus for each of the Fellowship modules 3, 4 and 5 in the form of guidelines and lists of topics which the Fellowship candidate will be examined on.  For candidates who are already studying for the Fellowship exams, not much has changed other than the syllabus for each of modules 3-5 is better explained. There are no new topics included.  However, with the syllabuses now set down in considerable detail in keeping with current examination requirements for the first time, this is an advantage for both prospective candidates and for the examiners to allow certainty in terms of what the candidates may be examined on.  We hope that this development will encourage Fellowship candidates to come forward from the large number of recently qualified Associates who have passed Modules 1 and 2.  Any queries on the examinations that are not dealt with on the website, may be addressed to the Convenor of the Examining Committee, David Pannell - pannellandcompany@hotmail.

 

EXAMINATIONS FOR ASSOCIATES,  OCTOBER 2011   

David Pannell , the Association’s Convenor of the Examining Committee reports that
the Association’s examinations (Modules 1 and 2) were held between 25 and 27 October 2011 at examination centres in London, Liverpool, Hong Kong, Singapore, Athens, Mumbai, Tokyo, Taipei, Jakarta, Tehran and Caracas.

A total of 35 candidates entered to sit either one or both of these modules.

16 candidates were successful in Module 1 - Marine Insurance Act 1906  and related insurance principles with 5 candidates achieving distinction level.

The following passed Module 2 - Hull And Cargo Claims:-

Heather Robinson  (Charles Taylor, London)                     Distinction
John Thompson  (Charles Taylor, Liverpool)                      Pass
George Angelis  (Braemar Salvage Assocn, Houston)     Pass
Cher Wee Ling, Helen  (Charles Taylor, Singapore)          Distinction
Nanami Hara  (Charles Taylor, Tokyo & Liverpool)             Pass
Americo Gomez  (Consultek C.A., Puerto Cabello)           Pass
Chen Hung Yi, Jimmy  (Charles Taylor, Hong Kong)         Pass
Ho Ming Fai, Jason  (Charles Taylor, Hong Kong)             Pass
Dominic Ng  (CTX Special Risks, Hong Kong)                    Pass

New Associate Members

The above ten candidates who passed Module 2, above, have now satisfied the examiners in both Modules 1 and 2 and thus become Associate Members.

Currently the Association now has approximately 54 Associate members and these are increasing through examination by about 10 per year.

Congratulations to our new Associate members.

 

 

SECRETARIAT CHANGES

With effect from October 1st the Secretariat of the Association will be located at International House, 1 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1UN within the premises of RTI Ltd. along with the Association’s library.
The London Shipping Law Centre is also there as well as the International Maritime Conciliation and Mediation Panel (IMCAM).

Mara Estefani, BA(hons) MBA will be the Administrator supported by the Secretary, David Taylor.

Contact details are;
Mara
Phone: 44 207 481 2150
E mail: aaa@rtiForensics.com
The Association’s web site remains www.average-adjusters.com

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Annual Meetings 2011

 

We are pleased to announce that at the Annual Meeting of Fellows on Wednesday 11th May, Paul Silver was elected Chairman and Keith Jones was elected Vice-Chairman of the Association.

At the Annual General Meeting of the Association on 12th May, John Ahern, the outgoing chairman of the Association challenged the marine insurance market to make full use of these experts in marine insurance and law, rather than automatically turning to lawyers when faced with a claims adjustment issue they do not fully understand.

John told the meeting that the association’s advisory and dispute resolution panel was an under-used resource. “I detect a continuing preference among insurers to automatically seek advices from lawyers or other market professionals on adjusting matters with which they are not fully conversant and which could have been dealt with by references to the association or to one of its fellows.” 

He followed with an illustration of the average adjuster’s expertise:  a thorough analysis of the complex issues of loss allocation resulting from the many cases of piracy off the coast of Somalia. His own experience is a measure of the issue; during the first 40 years of his professional career, he had been involved in no more than three or four cases. Since 2008, his practice has dealt with some 30 incidents.

He explained that legal decision on piracy and contributions to ransom payments date back to the Roman civil law, but with long detention of ships, cargoes and crews by Somali pirates, contentious issues continue over the allocation of losses and costs and whose insurance policy should respond.

In addition to the loss of use of a vessel, detention of its crew and delay to cargo delivery for many weeks, funding usually has to be found before a captured can proceed. These include: 

The ransom, likely to be delivered by airdrop in $100 denomination notes,
Fees for negotiators and lawyers
The air drop
Transit insurance on the ransom
Delivery of essential bunkers and stores or towage for the vessel as it is unlikely to be able to proceed otherwise.
Bullet or rocket damage to the ship and damage to ship’s equipment
Theft of ship’s equipment and stores
Consumption of bunkers and stores while the ship is being held.

“Pirate attacks are continuing as we sit here today, and in Somalia, it is now referred to as an industrial process. Without any political will by the world to do anything positive about it, we can expect many more piracy claims to cross our desks, until such time as a catastrophe occurs which will spur the nations of the world to act.”

A full copy of John Ahern's address entitled "1911 and All That" can be downloaded HERE.

On 13th May the Association iisued the following Press Release:

Resurgence of interest in average adjusting as career
The Association of Average Adjusters is seeing a resurgence in interest in the profession.  At its annual general meeting yesterday (Thursday) in London, the AAA announced its first new Fellow since 2008 and 17 new Associate members from as far apart as Sweden, Tehran, Mumbai and Hong Kong. These 18 new members bring the total active membership of the association to a total of 36 Fellows and 45 Associates.
In addition, several further candidates have already passed one of the two modules of the associate examination, and there are four part qualified as fellows.
AAA has been able to arrange for students to sit examinations in in centres around the world: Athens, Brisbane, Cape Town, Doha, Dubai, Gothenburg, Hong Kong, Liverpool, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nicosia, Singapore, Sydney, Tehran and Tokyo.
Outgoing AAA Chairman John Ahern of Rogers Wilkin Ahern welcomed the new members and said: “The Association of Average Adjusters is making a very great contribution to the training of marine insurance professionals in this and other markets. That we also have a new fellow of the association shows this.”
The new Fellow is Burkhard Fischer of Albatross Adjusters, Limassol.
The new Associates are:

• Patrik Almström  (Swedish Club, Göteborg)
• Mohammedreza Banaei  (IRISL, Tehran)
• Ed Carey  (Beazley, London)
• Derek Coop  (Kiln Group, Cape Town)
• Daniel Gibbins  (Blue Seas Adjusters, London)
• Iain Gilchrist  (Marine Shipping Insurance Co Ltd, Gateshead)
• Alexander Greene  (Richards Hogg Lindley, Liverpool)
• Kesavan Kannan  (Al Sagr National Insce Co Ltd, Dubai)
• George Koleth  (Lawyer, Singapore)
• James Lo Wing Fai  (Houlder Insurance Brokers, Hong Kong)
• Freya Macleod  (Richards Hogg Lindley, Liverpool)
• Stylianos Magkanaris  (Swedish Club, Piraeus)
• Alejandro Martinez  (Charles Taylor Adjusting, Mexico City)
• Lauder Shao Jie (Charles Taylor Adjusting, Hong Kong)
• Syed Ali Asif Naqvi  (Milverk Pvt Ltd, Karachi)
• Sriram Pappu  (Marsh India Insce Brokers, Mumbai)
• Madonna Youles-Fitzgerald  (Liberty International Underwriters, Brisbane)

 

News from the chair

On Tuesday 23 November 2010,the Association was kindly requested by the International Underwriting  Association to present a market briefing on the work of the Association. This was held at Balls Bros Mincing Pavement and over 100  insurers, adjusters,brokers, lawyers and surveyors attended. In the chair for the Association was John Ahern the current chairman and the presentation was in two parts:-

John Ahern presented a review of the Association’s work in the London insurance market since its founding in 1869 and the fact that the Associations exams are now the exam of choice for those working in marine insurance and the  current popularity  of the new modular exam structure  has resulted in 40 Associates , some of whom it is expected will proceed to Fellowship status, thus maintaining the standards and  ensuring the future of the Association. The exam results were announced and the names of the successful candidates and the new Associates, were read out to the gathering. The next item concerned the work of the  Fee dispute panel and the Advisory Dispute Panel and since the last AAA meeting in May only one matter has been addressed and this concerned the Advisory & Dispute Resolution panel concerning issues on Piracy and  whether certain items are allowable in general average. In this regard ,John Ahern reported:-

The Advisory Committee was requested to respond to a referral from cargo insurers in a London general average adjustment matter involving seizure of a vessel and her cargo by Somali pirates and in particular to address the question as to “whether or not expenses for crew and bunker during the detention of the vessel are to be allowed in GA”.  It was subsequently confirmed that the question referred solely to wages of the crew and bunker consumption during the period when the vessel was held by the pirates and at such time a further enquiry was made by the cargo insurers - ie “* to consider the removal (theft) of navigational equipment by the pirates and consumption of food and stores during the same period, which were included in the GA claim”.

In addressing this enquiry the Committee members concerned have not been provided with any further information other than that summarised above and in particular the relevant adjustment has not been sighted.

Having reviewed the matter the five members of the Advisory Committee selected to respond were unanimous in their opinions which may be summarised as follows.

1. It is not considered that wages and maintenance of crew and bunkers consumed during the period of seizure by pirates can be allowed in general average since (a) an anchorage location to which the pirates take a vessel and her cargo are not deemed to represent a port or place of refuge so as to give rise to an allowance under Rule 11 of the York-Antwerp Rules and (b) the resort to the anchorage was not intentionally incurred within the terms of Rule A and relevant costs would represent a loss by delay excluded by the second paragraph of Rule C.

2. It is not thought that any claim can be allowed in general average for the loss of navigational equipment or food and stores which evidently amounts simply to theft by the pirates and not a GA act for the common safety of ship and cargo.

John Ahern added that  another matter that had arisen recently in respect of piracy claim was whether or not damage sustained by the vessel in avoiding pirates was allowable as a general average sacrifice and he advised that under an adjustment drawn up in London  this would not be in view of the decision in  Covington v Roberts  1806 , where the Master of the “Nancy” carried an unusual spread of sail to outrun a French Privateer and  Sir Mansfield C.J. had ruled that this was not an extraordinary sacrifice. However, it was recognized that in some countries the position was otherwise and damage caused by carrying a press of sail was treated as general average.

The main topic of the presentation was the proposed Claims Guidelines for Assureds ,Representatives and  superintendents which have been approved by the Joint Hull Committee,Joint Claims Committee and the  AAA and is now due to be referred to LIRMA for their comments and agreement.

Presentations were made by members of the committee viz Tony Kersey from Royal Sun Alliance , representing Underwriters, Gerry Williams of BMT Marine & Offshore Surveys  for the surveyors and Richard Cornah for the Association, outlining the views from their perspective .The above guidelines are intended to reintroduce the correct manner in which claims should be handled and which was the norm some 25 years ago. They will not be mandatory and nor will they form part of the policy document and are intended to  be helpful to the Assured  etc to ensure a smooth transition of the claim and avoid the pitfalls and difficulties that have arisen in recent years. It is hoped that when the final version has been agreed that they will be welcomed by the market as a best practice guide.

Finally, John Ahern was pleased to announce that the annual dinner of the Association would be held at The Savoy next year on 12 May 2011.

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