Frank Crystal & Company Partners with P.L. Ferrari to Launch Marine Insurance Practice [Health & Beauty Close – Up]

Frank Crystal & Company, an independent insurance brokerage firm, has announced an exclusive cooperation with P.L. Ferrari & Co. to launch a new U.S. based Marine Insurance practice.

A European-based insurance broker specializing in marine liability for ship owners, P.L. Ferrari will work with Frank Crystal to offer protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance to American-based ship owners through bespoke transactional, technical and advisory support, the Company noted in a release.

"Liability legislation around the world is heating up against ship owners, and the United States is no exception," said Jamie Crystal, executive vice president of Frank Crystal & Company and acting head of the new Marine Insurance practice. "Through our cooperation with P.L. Ferrari and the new Marine Insurance Practice, U.S. based ship owners will now have access to the foremost experts in P&I insurance in the world. Our clients will benefit from optimum levels of customized program design aligned with the specialist advice critical to ensuring the right cover for maritime liabilities."

The new practice will be run by Paul Barnes, an industry professional who brings more than 25 years experience building tailored products to help multinational ship owners manage complex global risks. Previous to his new role as managing director at Frank Crystal & Company, he was senior vice president and underwriter at the Shipowners Claims Bureau (managers of the American P&I Club) where he underwrote internationally trading ship owners in the US and across the globe including Canada, Mexico, Greece, Turkey and Southeast Asia.

"Ship owners and charterers are facing a world of ever increasing regulation and governmental oversight," noted Barnes. "Consequently, the liability regimes in which those owners and charterers find themselves operating mean an incident could threaten not only the ship, but the entire fabric of the company. It is now more critical than ever that owners and charterers receive specialist P&I advice. I'm thrilled to be joining Frank Crystal & Company to lead this important practice."

Recognizing the needs of a complex and specialist coverage, the dedicated P&I offering will be a departure from the conventional approach of US brokerage firms whose P&I offering is typically delivered as part of a basket of general marine services, and often limited to a transaction only capability with a time inefficient and costly reliance on a trans- Atlantic sub-brokerage chain. The cooperation between Frank Crystal and P.L. Ferrari represents one of the first offerings ever for American ship owners to benefit from at home specialist P&I expertise.

"P&I is the critical aspect of marine risk and a company's balance sheet is at risk if the insurance product is not specifically designed and intelligently insured," noted Stephen Hawke, managing director of the London branch of P.L. Ferrari & Co. "With the multi-jurisdictional legal environment they face as they move assets across continents and nations, U.S. domiciled ship owners and charterers need to have access to the same immediate 24/ 7 advice and tailored solutions their counterparts across Europe and the rest of the world expect. Mr. Barnes brings decades of experience in this area, and we are honored he will be heading this new initiative."

Hawke concluded, "Not only do the Frank Crystal & Company's' values align with ours through a best-in-class, independent approach, but also in terms of how we value our clients by offering the highest level of advice, accessibility and accountability. We are excited to be working with Frank Crystal & Company."

Prior to his role at the Shipowners Claims Bureau, Paul was a vice president at Charles Taylor P&I Management (Managers of the Standard P&I Club) in New York for more than ten years, where he providing 24/7 casualty response for all ship owner members of the Club trading in and to the US and also managed P&I claims on a worldwide basis for all Americas based members. Previously he held several senior level positions over the span of twelve years at Richard Hogg International/Richard Hogg Lindley, including executive vice president, within multiple regions in the U.S. and the U.K. Barnes is a non-lawyer member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and the Canadian Maritime Law Association, and a resident associate member of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States and Canada.

The Marine Insurance Practice will operate within Frank Crystal & Company'sCorporate Insurance Services Group, led by Ed Kiessling, executive vice president.

P.L. Ferrari is an independent specialist P&I broker.

More information:

http://www.frankcrystal.com

http://www.plferrari.com

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