Insurance History and Inchmaree

I first learned of the Inchmaree clause when I met Howard Candage. Howard is an expert in marine insurance and one of the best insurance people I know. Up to the time we met (2o something years ago), I knew next to nothing about marine insurance. Howard taught me a great deal. The Inchmaree clause extends coverage to include losses caused by unseen defects in a ships hull, machinery, equipment, bursting of boilers, errors in navigation, negligence of its captain and crew. The Inchmaree was a UK ship involved in the 1887 case Thames & Mersey Marine Insurance Co v. Hamilton, Fraser & Co. The court ruled that the peril of negligence was not a part of the ship's insurance policy. The clause was developed after the court case so as to provide coverage. The perils included in the Inchmaree clause are now a part of the "risks" sections of hull policies and are sometimes called, "other perils, losses or misfortunes." Inchmaree is a small island in Scotland.