Since 1987, the Club has focused heavily on using its experience of handling shipping liability claims to raise awareness of what goes wrong and to get that information to those at the sharp end. Much of this has been done in the form of contemperaneous advice on current claims trends.

Using this experience in a more pro active way the Club has now modified its ship visit system to concentrate more on claims reduction rather than rule compliance as covered by many other inspection regimes.

By using the formula

RISK = FREQUENCY x CONSEQUENCE 

and analysing 20 years of claims, the Club has identified the

hazards

,

threats,consequences

and the

controlling factors

that would have prevented or lessened the effects of a claim.

Drawing on the experience of its claims executives and indepth claims analysis, the Club has defined 76 of these major threat areas which cause liability claims, and some 450 controls which may be able to help reduce the likelihood of those threats causing an incident. We have worked to trial and develop a system to rate and record these risks, so that a more scientific approach to claims prevention/control can be taken. In time the system will show us trends and benchmarks which we will analyse and use to assist our Members to develop a more focused approach within their own safety systems to help manage their risks better.