Despite the fact that a ship is usually fully insured against maritime risks, claims are still quite often made which are not covered by the insurance risks protected by the basic policies. Such cases can cause significant damage to both shipowners and charterers in the form of legal costs incurred in disputes between the parties over charters, contracts and other commercial aspects.

FD&D (Freight, Demurrage & Defence) – a type of insurance designed to assist the policyholder by covering the legal costs mentioned above. The FD&D insurer helps to protect the client’s business interests and to continue operations without major financial losses.

The FD&D standard cover includes the following claims and disputes:

• charters: off-hire, removal of the vessel from the charter, failure to respect speed limits and contract performance, charterage and downtime;
• ship’s bills of lading, charters and other contracts of carriage (including contractual disputes);
• the supply of equipment, food or fuel to a ship;
• agents, stevedores, procurers, brokers;
• passengers, ticketless passengers, the captain or crew of the ship;
• ship construction, sale and purchase, repair and renovation;
• rescuing the ship;
• insurers, classification societies;
• customs, financial and other public authorities.