Largest Marine Insurance Loss Ever: The Tragic Bridge Collapse Could Cost Billions in Coverage

In an interview with Reuters, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, the chairman of the commercial insurance market, stated that the tragic collision between a bridge and a ship has the potential to be the largest single marine insurance loss ever. John Neal, CEO of Lloyd’s, also mentioned on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” show that both entities were insured, but this could still result in billion-dollar losses within the industry. Despite this, there is a sense of relief that both entities were insured.

John Neal emphasized that this incident would likely be one of the biggest marine losses in history, but the positive aspect is that it is covered by insurance. In comparison to natural disasters and other catastrophic events, it is reassuring that this particular incident is insured, allowing for financial cover to address reparations and related costs.

The collapse of the bridge occurred after the Dali, a Maersk-chartered ship, collided with one of its support beams, leading to the tragic deaths of construction workers. Analysts at Barclays estimate that the insurance claims from this disaster could reach up to $3 billion, while Morningstar DBRS believes the figure could be as high as $4 billion. These estimations surpass the losses from the Costa Concordia tragedy, a luxury cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Italy in 2012.

Following these warnings, Lloyd’s reported its earnings for 2023, revealing total pre-tax profits of 10.7 billion pounds ($13.5 billion). This was largely driven by