Crew managers, acting as principals, prefer to take out separate crew risk insurance in order to handle claims directly with their insurer. In addition, crew managers are occasionally not permitted to be co-insured under the owners’ P&I insurance, and therefore need to take out separate crew insurance. Gard’s crew cover is developed for these situations, and responds to the traditional crew liabilities.

Crew managers with a legal, contractual liability for the crew.

The crew cover responds to a crew management company’s legal or contractual liability for crew members under contract and arising out of operations customarily carried out at the risk and responsibility of a shipowner.

The insurance of crew usually would be included under Ships P&I cover, however, there are occasions when the responsibility for crew insurance is passed by the Shipowner onto their ship - or crew manager under the ship management contract and thus shipowner may exclude the crew cover from his P&I club insurance and leave it on Crew manager to take out a separate crew P&I cover. The cover can also include separate P&I risks such as liability for other people carried on board, diversion costs, life salvage, fines, and disinfection and quarantine expenses, provided that the crew manager is contractually or legally liable in such cases.