SUMMARY OF CONG LUd IONS AI'ID RECOMMENDATIONS^ 



This is a resume'' of the most important conclusions which were 

 reached by a systematic analysis of the commercial fishing vessel 

 insurance problems in the New England, Gulf of Mexico, and California 

 Areas. These areas were selected for analysis because of severe 

 insurance difficulties encountered by owners of commercial fishing 

 vessels in New England and California and the extensive practice of 

 non-insurance in the Gulf of Mexico Area. On the basis of the in- 

 formation assembled, a number of conclusions are arrived at which 

 throvr light on the fishing industry's insurance problems. Besides 

 the recommendations made to the United States Government, this sum- 

 mary also includes a number of recommendations to each of the two 

 business groups which are concerned with the insurance problem. 



A. CONCLUSIONS 



Tlie major situations, conditions, forces, and factors which 

 were related or gave rise to the insurance problem axe presented 

 here under the following headings: noninsurance, the cost of 

 insurance, the loss experience of insurance, the record of acci- 

 dents, the vessel as an insurable risk, and the effect of insurance 

 rating and practices on loss experience. 



1. Noninsurance . During the five-year period under study, 

 1950-54, it was found that approximately 30 percent of active 

 vessels in New England were not insured for hull and about 32 per- 

 cent were not insured for protection and indemnity. Noninsurance 

 in the Gulf of Mexico Area (hereafter referred to as the Gulf Area) 

 was the highest of all three areas with about 57 percent of the 

 active vessels without hull insurance coverage and 88 percent with- 

 out protection and indemnity insurance. The extent of noninsurance 

 in California lies between the experience of the other two areas 

 with 50 percent of active vessels noninsured for hull and 53 per- 

 cent noninsured for protection and indemnity. 



In terms of gross tonnage and current market value of vessel, 

 hovrever, noninsurance is less extensive in all three areas. By these 

 terms, noninsurance on hull is only 11 and 9 percent respectively in 

 New England, 11 and 13 percent in California and k3 and 36 percent 



1/ The conclusions and recommendations in this report are those of 

 the authors and are not necessarily concurred in by the United 

 States Fish and Wildlife Service. 



