Cover for the schedule, the passengers, and everything in between.
Ferry operators sit at the intersection of every marine risk profile at once — passenger liability, vehicle deck exposure, port state compliance, tight schedules, and a mass-casualty scenario that never leaves the risk register. Standard commercial marine cover was not written for the operational reality of ferry services. We build programmes that address every layer — hull, P&I, passenger claims, USCG Subchapter K/T compliance, and the war and cyber exclusions that increasingly matter on international routes.
Ferry insurance combines hull & machinery cover for the vessel, protection & indemnity (P&I) for passenger and third-party liability, and specialised extensions for vehicle deck exposure, mass casualty scenarios, and route-specific regulatory compliance. In the US, most passenger ferries operate under USCG Subchapter T (small passenger vessels carrying 150 or fewer passengers) or Subchapter K (more than 150 passengers), each with distinct coverage requirements.
A single ferry incident can produce more passenger claims in one afternoon than a commercial fleet sees in a year. Programme structure has to account for the aggregation risk that standard hull and P&I cover was never built to hold.
Recent claim: Bow-door failure on a Ro-Pax route — 340 passenger claims, mass-notification protocol activated. P&I aggregate limit stress-tested; no cover shortfall.
Modern ferries carry hundreds of vehicles — including electric vehicles with lithium batteries that current suppression systems weren't designed for. Underwriters are tightening terms fast; the programmes we place stay ahead of the wording changes.
Recent claim: EV thermal runaway in a vehicle deck, contained by crew before spread. Hull damage limited; wording review triggered mid-term restructuring across the fleet.
USCG Subchapter K/T, IMO SOLAS, MCA Passenger Ship Code, EU flag state requirements — every route touches a different regulatory frame. Cover has to satisfy each one, or the operating licence is at stake.
Case: EU-flagged Ro-Pax refused port entry pending updated P&I certificate. New endorsement issued within 4 hours; sailing schedule held.
Ferries make money on the timetable. Any covered event — mechanical, weather, dispute — that idles a route eats into the season's revenue immediately. BI cover has to reflect the actual timetable, not an annualised average.
Recent claim: Main engine failure during peak Aegean season — 11-day repair window. BI cover paid daily revenue at peak-season rate, not annualised.
Physical loss or damage on an agreed-value basis, including the engineering-critical systems that ferries depend on — main engines, thrusters, ramps, bow doors, watertight closures.
Full passenger and third-party liability through the International Group P&I Clubs, with aggregation cover sized for mass-casualty scenarios and route-specific exposures.
Athens Convention limits, PLR (Passenger Liability Regulation) compliance for EU routes, USCG Subchapter K/T mandatory coverages. Structured to satisfy every regulator on your operating certificate.
Loss of income cover indexed to your actual timetable and route revenue — reflecting seasonal peaks, not annualised averages.
A Mediterranean ferry operator running four Ro-Pax vessels on peak-season routes came to us mid-year with a programme that hadn't been re-broked in three years. Our review identified aggregation exposure on passenger liability that would have breached limits in a single mass-casualty scenario, and vehicle deck cover written before EV traffic became material. We restructured the entire programme across all four hulls inside five weeks — before season peak. Six months later a bow-door incident produced 340 passenger claims. The restructured aggregate held. Zero uncovered exposure.
The old programme was a snapshot from three years ago. SRMG's audit was the first time anyone had actually looked at the aggregation risk on our peak-season loading. When the incident happened, we had the cover we needed — not the cover we'd assumed we had.
Complimentary ferry programme review — passenger aggregation stress-test, vehicle deck cover audit, regulatory compliance check. No obligation.
Last reviewed: August 2026
