Organization that coordinates the development and adoption of numerous international standards. ISO is not an acronym but rather the Greek word for “equal.”
Insurance Encyclopedia
International Risk Management
The management of the domestic and foreign loss exposures of a business with international operations. Businesses vary in the degree to which they centralize the management of these risks.
International Safety Management Code (ISM)
Concerns safe operation of ships and pollution prevention. ISM is mandatory under the International Convention for Life at Sea. It applies to: passenger ships (including high speed craft), ro-ro passenger ships, oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers, bulk carriers of 500 gross tonnage or above, high speed cargo craft of 500 tonnage or above, cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units of 500 tonnage or above. The ‘Company’ (shipowner, manager or bareboat charterer) must establish and implement a safety management system and obtain a Document of Compliance (DOC) every five years that is also audited annually. Non-compliance means automatic termination of the hull and machinery policy (Clause 13 International Hull Clauses). Policies usually protect the interests of innocent mortgagees for a limited period. See INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT CODE ENDORSEMENT.
International Safety Management Code Endorsement
Applies to cargo policies to exclude cover whenever the cargo is carried in non-ISM Code certified vessels or whose owners do not hold a Document of Compliance at the time of loading. The exclusion does not apply where the policy has been assigned to an innocent third party who has bought the cargo in good faith.
International Salvage Union (ISU)
The International Salvage Union is the global trade association representing marine salvors. Apart from attending to casualty at sea, salvors are also engaged in wreck removal, cargo recovery, pollution defense, towage and related activities.
International Sharing Agreement
An agreement between motor liability insurers and own damage’ insurers applicable to accidents involving vehicles registered in different EC states when one is insured for ‘own damage. Regardless of liability, the liability insurer and the own damage insurer share the ‘own damage’ indemnity on a fixed basis. The agreement reduces the costs inherent in an international claim.
International Travel Coverage Products for Health Insurance
A short term option available for protection against health contingencies occurring during international travel are the Overseas Medical Insurance Plans. Plans are mostly packaged as Overseas Travel Plans by including other components like loss of baggage and cover for flight cancellation etc. Indeed, some countries insist on having a valid medical insurance as part of the visa documentation. Recently, some insurers have designed comprehensive international products which cover international medical costs as well as those within the country, and are a form of global health cover and not just for short term travel.
International Underwriters’ Association of London (IUA)
Formed in 1999 by the merger between the Institute of London Underwriters and the London and Reinsurance Market Association to bring together marine, non-marine and reinsurance interests. The IUA is the world’s largest representative body of wholesale and reinsurance. The IUA runs the Technical and Underwriting Executive Committee to which other committees, including the Clauses Sub-Committee and the Pollution Group, report.
International Underwriting Association of London (IUA)
IUA represents companies that trade in the London insurance market outside Lloyd’s. They include branches or subsidiaries of nearly all the world’s largest international insurance and reinsurance companies. The IUA provides a forum for discussing market issues and providing technical support to practitioners. IUA members collectively own a 25% share of Xchanging Ins-sure Services (XIS), the provider of back office processing services to the London market. The IUA was formed in January 1998 from the merger of the London International Insurance and Reinsurance Market Association (LIRMA) and the Institute of London Underwriters (ILU). The main stated reason for the merger was the desire to give the London company market a single voice in dealings with government, regulators and other insurance bodies. The association has always made reform of the London market a top priority, especially the replacement of out-of-date processes and increased use of technology to conduct business. This led in 1999 to the creation of the IUA-Lloyd’s Forum. This soon expanded to include brokers and eventually evolved into the London Market Group, which is still active today.
International Union of Aviation Insurers
Represents the interests of aviation insurers in 31 different countries, providing a central office for the circulation of information between members. The Union also seeks to provide a better understanding and conduct of international aviation including space risks. Membership is open to pools, groups or associations whose participants are engaged in aviation insurance on a direct or reinsurance basis. In exceptional circumstances aviation insurance companies may be considered for membership.
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An organization founded in 1934 by leading aviation underwriters with he objectives (i) to constitute an official body to speak and negotiate on behalf of aviation Insurance interests ; (ii) to provide a central office for the circulation of information between members; (iii) to co-operate for the better regulation and conduct of aviation; and (iv) generally to do all such things as may be beneficial to the development and conduct of aviation branch of Insurance.