Important information

You are responsible for paying contractors directly, but direct payments to repairers or suppliers may be considered on a without prejudice basis in certain circumstances.

Betterment
Your insurance policy is only required to return your vessel to a similar financial position to that which you were in before the accident. Occasionally, when replacement or new parts are used in the repair, it results in the overall value of the vessel increasing. In these circumstances it is deemed that you have benefited from the claim, and so, in accordance with the terms and conditions of your policy, the Underwriters are allowed to deduct up to one third of the cost of these replacement items in order to compensate for this increase in value. This is known as betterment.

Third parties
If any third party makes or intimates that a claim will be made against you, you must not make any verbal or written admission of liability, also, you must not offer to compensate any third party. Any correspondence received must immediately be forwarded to us, unanswered, and we will deal with it on your behalf.

Salvage
If you get into difficulty and salvage services are offered by another vessel, where practicable you should contact us for guidance before accepting any terms. Obviously this is not always possible so guidance on this is difficult, but if you’re offered a reasonable fixed price contract you should accept it.

However, be wary of accepting terms from salvors that give you their own written salvage agreement form, do not sign this type of agreement unless you’re certain that you understand what it means. If in doubt try and leave the remuneration to be settled at a later date preferably by mediation. Only sign a Lloyd’s Open Form Salvage Agreement if necessary.