Arrow Risk Management has launched a marine insurance practice on its specialist underwriting platform, appointing Wayne Krause (pictured) as underwriting practice leader. The commercial rationale is specific: standard cargo policies do not respond to delays or precautionary rerouting, and the coverage gap that creates has made specialist marine underwriting structurally more valuable at precisely the moment geopolitical disruption is forcing cargo operators to reroute at scale.
Houthi forces have declared a formal blockade of the Red Sea while concurrent pressure builds on the Strait of Hormuz. The two waterways together carry an estimated 30% of global container shipping. When operators divert around these corridors - adding days or weeks to voyages and incurring significant additional costs - standard cargo cover provides no response. The gap is not a market failure but a policy design feature: standard cargo insurance covers physical loss and damage, not the commercial consequences of precautionary avoidance. That distinction is what specialist underwriters are being asked to bridge, either through bespoke delay cover or through bundled solutions combining cargo with war, terrorism and political risk as overlapping exposures require integrated treatment.
The International Union of Marine Insurance has stated that coverage remains available for well-presented risks in high-risk corridors. London market cargo capacity now exceeds US$1.5 billion, with Alesco putting the achievable vertical limit at around US$2 billion. IUMI data puts total global marine insurance premiums at US$39.92 billion in 2024, a 1.5% increase from 2023, with secretary general Lars Lange citing geopolitical tensions, climate risks and currency fluctuations as factors likely to influence results through 2025 and beyond.
The new practice will write marine cargo, stock throughput, project cargo and delay in start-up, and logistics operators and freight forwarders liability on a global basis, spanning SME, mid-market and larger corporate clients across complex international supply chains. Business will be written on Arrow Hub, Arrow's MGA technology platform.
Krause brings more than 30 years of experience across underwriting and broking in the international marine insurance market, with senior roles at Hollard Marine, Marsh, Tokio Marine Kiln, Zurich Financial Services and Aviva Global Corporate and Specialty spanning the London Market, North America, Europe and Southern Africa. That cross-jurisdictional depth gives the practice its specific credibility for clients navigating supply chains that span multiple geopolitical risk zones simultaneously.
Mark Harrington, Arrow's chief underwriting officer, said Krause's background positioned him to build a portfolio across the marine cargo and logistics lines, and that the practice would target complex international trading environments where specialist underwriting expertise is required.
