Global marine insurance premiums reached USD 42.6 billion in 2025, up 5.5 percent on 2024, according to the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and its newly released IUMI Stats Report 2026. The report, published on 27 October 2026, is the marine insurance industry’s most authoritative annual snapshot — and its message matters far beyond the boardrooms of London and Singapore. Hull cover, the line that protects ships and fishing boats against damage, grew fastest of all, at 9.4 percent. For India’s fishing boat owners, who are still waiting for affordable vessel cover of their own, the numbers are both a warning and an opportunity.
Here is what the world’s biggest marine insurance survey actually says, what is driving the numbers, and what it means for the people who take boats to sea.
The headline numbers: a $42.6 billion market
IUMI represents 42 national and regional marine insurance and reinsurance associations, and its Facts & Figures Committee compiles the Stats Report from data submitted by those associations and other industry partners. The 2026 edition covers the 2025 insurance year. Its headline findings:
| Line of business | Premiums 2025 | Change vs 2024 | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine cargo | USD 24.2 billion | +6.9% | ~57% |
| Ocean hull | USD 10.5 billion | +9.4% | 24.7% |
| Offshore energy | USD 4.82 billion | +0.1% | 11.1% |
| Marine liability | — | — | 7.3% |
| Total marine insurance | USD 42.6 billion | +5.5% | 100% |
Cargo remains the biggest line by far, at roughly 57 percent of all marine premiums, supported by seaborne trade and higher asset and commodity prices. But hull is where the action is: ocean hull premiums jumped 9.4 percent to USD 10.5 billion, driven by fleet growth, higher vessel values and war-risk premiums. Offshore energy was essentially flat at USD 4.82 billion, up just 0.1 percent — although London kept a 62.7 percent share of that market, and renewables now make up around 30 percent of its offshore energy portfolio.
Where the premiums are written
Europe remained the largest marine insurance market in 2025, but Asia is where the growth is:
- Europe — 46.5% of global premiums, still the biggest market, though its growth was driven more by currency movements than by new business.
- Asia/Pacific — 30.8%, the growth engine. China remained the region’s dominant market, with high-value exports — including AI-related technology and semiconductors — pushing cargo values and insurance demand steadily higher since 2016.
- Latin America — 10%, North America — 7.2%, the Middle East — 3.5% and Africa — 2.1%.
Seaborne trade grew by about 2.3 percent in 2025, while the global fleet expanded by around 4 percent. Fears that global tariffs would choke trade proved less pronounced than expected, and global GDP growth came in stronger than forecast. The other surprise driver: the global race for AI, which is putting ever more valuable semiconductors into cargo holds and onto insurers’ books.
Why premiums rose — but rates stayed soft
The most important sentence in the IUMI report is also the most counter-intuitive. Premiums rose 5.5 percent, but IUMI says US dollar weakness “masked any underlying market development”. In other words, much of the headline growth is a currency effect, not a firmer market. Extra underwriting capacity and competition kept rates under pressure in every line, and the cargo market actually softened through 2025 rather than correcting.
On claims, 2025 was a quiet year for catastrophes — no single loss big enough to move any individual sector. But the slow bleed continued: smaller and medium-sized “attritional” claims kept accumulating, squeezing profitability. IUMI’s Major Claims Database, which now holds 7,200 cargo claim observations from 30 national insurance associations since 2013, records a cumulative loss of USD 11.4 billion. The report also showcases IUMI’s revised Hull Inflation Index, which uses macroeconomic indicators to explain why marine repairs keep getting more expensive.
Two structural pressures stand out. First, the world fleet is getting old: the average vessel age reached 22.4 years in August 2026, bringing higher maintenance needs, costlier repairs, difficulty sourcing spare parts and crew fatigue. Second, geopolitics: war cover became increasingly prominent as conflict in the Middle East disrupted routes, around 6 percent of the global crude tanker fleet remained in the Persian Gulf, and IUMI put the conflict’s cost to marine insurers at around USD 2 billion. Sanctions-related incidents also increased significantly from 2025.
What this means for fishing boat owners
Fishing vessels are insured under the same hull and liability lines the IUMI report tracks, so the global trends land directly on a boat owner’s premium notice:
- Hull cover is the fastest-rising cost. With hull premiums up 9.4 percent — the sharpest rise of any line — owners renewing hull and machinery cover should expect upward pressure, especially for older boats. The ageing-fleet problem is acute in fisheries, where many Indian mechanised boats are decades old.
- Repair inflation is real. IUMI’s Hull Inflation Index exists precisely because repair costs keep climbing. A grounding or engine failure that cost a certain amount to fix five years ago costs materially more today — which is why the sum insured on a policy needs regular review, not a one-time guess.
- War-risk and piracy premiums bite only where you sail. War cover is now a prominent, separately priced item for vessels in high-risk waters. Indian boats fishing in the Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean should check whether their policy prices in regional risk — and what it excludes.
- A soft market is a buyer’s moment. Because competition is holding rates down despite rising premiums, owners who shop around, compare hull plus protection-and-indemnity (P&I) quotes and bundle cover can still find competitive terms. Soft markets do not last forever; the report flags inflation, geopolitics and claims costs as the challenges ahead.
India: what cover exists for fishing boats today
The global picture makes India’s own gap sharper. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), fishing-vessel insurance has been designed and priced — cover for hull, machinery, accessories including fishing nets, collision liability, total and partial loss, and losses from natural calamities, at a premium of 2 percent of the sum insured plus GST, with the government paying up to 40 percent of the premium for general-category owners and up to 60 percent for SC, ST and women beneficiaries. Parliament has been told the scheme is at its final stage for rollout, but as of our check on 25 October 2026, no enrolment window has been announced. Read the full story in our earlier report: Fishing Boat Insurance at 2%: The Cover Fishers Waited For.
What fishers already have is accident cover for the person, not the boat: the Group Accident Insurance Scheme (GAIS) under PMMSY pays up to ₹5 lakh for accidental death or permanent total disability. Andhra Pradesh joined GAIS for the first time in 2026–27, with proposals to cover 2,84,888 fishers. The demand for boat cover itself sharpened after Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh–Yanam coast on 28 October 2026: on 30 October, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan directed officials to prepare proposals for an insurance facility for fishing vessels, and the East Coast Mechanised Fishing Boat Owners Association took the same demand to the Union fisheries minister days later. That story is here: After Arnab, AP Fishers Demand Boat Insurance Now.
Some states are moving on their own. Kerala accorded administrative sanction on 22 August 2026 (G.O.(Rt)No.506/2026/F&P) for insurance coverage of marine fishing implements, with an outlay of ₹100 lakh: around 23,465 traditional fishing crafts on the Kerala coast are to be covered, with the government paying 90 percent of the premium and the beneficiary 10 percent, priority to vessels up to 20 metres in length. And India’s large-vessel sector got its own domestic pool in 2026 — the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool, launched on 12 May 2026 with underwriting capacity of USD 1.5 billion. It is a merchant-shipping pool, not a fishing scheme, but it shows the domestic insurance machinery now exists.
The wider push to organise fishers — including the 213 women-led coastal cooperative societies and 27,447 beneficiaries in Andhra Pradesh covered by the PM-MKSSY framework — is also relevant, because cooperatives are the natural vehicle for group insurance: 27,447 Women, 213 Cooperatives: AP’s Fishing Revolution.
What fishing vessel owners should do now
- Check your registration. PMMSY vessel insurance, when it opens, is for vessels registered under ReALCRAFT, the national fishing-vessel registration system. If your boat is not registered, sort that out first.
- Review your sum insured. With repair costs inflating, a sum insured fixed years ago may no longer cover a rebuild. Ask your insurer for a current valuation.
- Get competing quotes. The soft global market means insurers are competing for hull business. Compare hull-plus-P&I quotes from at least two insurers or brokers before renewing.
- Read the war-risk and exclusion clauses. Know whether your policy covers your actual fishing grounds, and what happens if you cross into a listed high-risk area.
- Watch your State Fisheries Department. Kerala’s scheme and Andhra Pradesh’s demand both run through state channels. No one should pay anyone to “enrol” in the PMMSY vessel scheme until a State Fisheries Department or the National Fisheries Development Board confirms an opening.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the global marine insurance market?
USD 42.6 billion in premiums in 2025, up 5.5 percent on 2024, according to IUMI’s Stats Report 2026, released on 27 October 2026.
Which line grew fastest?
Ocean hull, up 9.4 percent to USD 10.5 billion, ahead of cargo at 6.9 percent (USD 24.2 billion). Offshore energy was flat at USD 4.82 billion.
Does the IUMI report cover fishing boats?
Fishing vessels fall under the hull and marine liability lines the report tracks, so the same premium, claims and repair-cost trends apply to them.
Is PMMSY fishing-vessel insurance open for enrolment?
Not yet. The scheme is designed and priced at 2 percent of the sum insured plus GST, with premium subvention up to 40–60 percent, but no enrolment window had been announced as of 25 October 2026.
Where can I read the full report?
IUMI publishes the Stats Report 2026 on its statistics page, and the press release summarising the findings is on iumi.com. Links are in the sources below.
Sources
- IUMI press release, 27 October 2026 — IUMI’s annual Stats Report highlights modest market development amid continued soft conditions
- IUMI Stats Report 2026 — full report download
- SAFETY4SEA, 27 October 2026 — IUMI 2026 Stats Report: Insurance premiums reached $42.6 billion in 2025
- Government of Kerala, G.O.(Rt)No.506/2026/F&P, 22 August 2026 — Insurance Coverage to Marine Fishing Implements
Fisheries India will track the PMMSY vessel insurance rollout and state-level schemes as enrolment windows open. Figures in this article are as reported by IUMI in its Stats Report 2026, released 27 October 2026; where a figure comes from a state order or a Parliament answer, that is stated in the text.