Prices in Bahrain's shops could go up, as shippers face higher insurance rates from Wednesday, following the terror attacks that slammed the US earlier this month, reported the Manama-based Gulf Daily News.
A seven-day notice canceling all existing policies, following the terrorist attacks in the US, ends Wednesday, it said.
The attacks caused losses of $20 billion (BD7.56bn) to international insurance companies.
The London Market War Risk Rating Committee is scheduled to announce the new premium rates also Wednesday.
A decision by international underwriters to make the Gulf an exclusion zone from normal war risk cover will mean increased freight charges for all goods being shipped to the Gulf, industry sources said.
"The increased charges will eventually be passed on to the consumers, resulting in possible price increase in all imported consumer goods, including automobiles," they revealed.
Asry chief executive Mohammed Al Khateeb predicted last week that the new declaration by underwriters would force each oil tanker entering the Gulf waters to pay an insurance premium of up to $20,000 (BD7,560) a day.
However, Heath Lambert, the world's sixth largest insurance broker, which has its Middle East headquarters in Bahrain, said yesterday the charges would depend on the ship's period of call to each port and were also subject to negotiation.
"Insurance companies, like any other business, can sustain their activities at this time only by taking some serious measures," Heath Lambert (Middle East) managing director, Andrew Love told the paper.
"According to industry estimates, the accumulated losses for the insurance market following the recent terrorist attacks on the US are estimated at $20bn.
"This is against the total annual worldwide premium of $14 million (BD5.29m), collected last year for sabotage and terrorism.” – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
