Jeffrey Thomson
Jeffrey is a barrister and legal academic, specialising in marine, energy and construction (re)insurance, and shipping / maritime law. He worked for several years as a member of some of the London Market’s leading marine and energy insurance disputes teams. At Gatehouse Chambers, he advises on coverage, subrogated claims and liability defences, in connection with marine, war risks, aviation, business interruption, construction, product liability, and professional indemnity insurances. He is a contributor to several editions of Construction All Risks Insurance and Construction Professional Indemnity Insurance (both by Paul Reed KC), and Insurance Broking Practice and the Law (CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and Gatehouse Chambers). At The City Law School, he leads the Maritime LLM programme’s Admiralty Law and Marine Insurance modules. His research focuses on English maritime and commercial law, both historical and present-day.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2004
Experience
- The City Law School, City St George’s, University of London Lecturer in Law (2017 - Present)
- Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (2011 - 2014)
- Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLM (2011 - 2011)
Membership
- London Maritime Arbitrators Association (supporting member)
- British Insurance Law Association
- Chartered Insurance Institute
Qualifications
- Maîtrise en droit privé (LLB) University de Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne) (2003)
- LLB King’s College London (2003)
- B Commerce McGill University (1999)
2 Contributions by Jeffrey Thomson
PRACTICE NOTES
London Market Marine War Risks Insurance: Institute Hull and Cargo Clauses—Perils, Premiums, Navigation Limits, Exclusions and Key English Law Authorities
Introduction
War risks insurance brings together a range of distinct hazards, grouped largely for historical reasons, as they were once excluded from, or not embraced by, standard marine cover. The method used to insure war risks prior to 1982/1983 was intricate. Certain perils were carved out of marine insurance by a warranty requiring the subject-matter to be ‘free of capture and seizure’ (‘f. c. & s.’). War risks insurance stepped in to protect against those very perils removed by the f. c. & s. clause. This Practice Note concentrates on war risks insurance for marine hull and marine cargo as arranged in the London market, although much of it is equally relevant to other categories of marine war risks insurance (eg marine liability insurance). For hull insurance, the assorted war-related perils are now consolidated within the Institute War and Strikes Clauses-Hulls (the Hull War Clauses). For marine cargo, two sets of Institute Clauses apply: one addressing war risks (the Cargo War Clauses) and another addressing strikes, terrorism and political violence (the Cargo Strikes Clauses). These Institute Clauses were intended to be used with the MAR form, a standard policy wording introduced by the...
Insurance & Reinsurance
PRACTICE NOTES
Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Insurance: Mutual Clubs, International Group pooling, cover, exclusions, claims conditions, 'pay to be paid', FD&D, and the Insurance Act 2015
Nature and purpose of P&I insurance
Protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance is a niche liability policy purchased by shipowners, certain charterers, and others involved in the commercial running of deep-sea vessels. Its core role is to compensate shipowners for third-party claims and to bridge gaps where other marine policies, including hull and machinery or war risks covers, do not respond. To call at or depart from most ports worldwide, ships—or at least those above defined minimum tonnages—must hold liability cover or comparable financial guarantees for specified classes of claims. In practice, merchant fleets meet these obligations through P&I cover. P&I insurance is, therefore, an essential partner to international trade.
P&I Clubs and the International Group of P&I Clubs
P&I insurance traces its roots to the 18th and 19th centuries, when shipowners formed associations to mutually insure exposures left outside the scope of the conventional marine insurance market. While some protection is now offered on a fixed‑premium basis, the majority of modern P&I protection is provided on a mutual, non‑profit footing by P&I ‘Clubs’. Although fixed‑premium arrangements are available, mutual underwriting prevails, with cover placed on a non‑profit basis through these Clubs, reflecting their origins in cooperative shipowner associations historically. Some...
Insurance & Reinsurance
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