North of England club to weed out poor risk fleets.

(From Lloyds List)

Byline: Other clubs in International Group likely to tread same path to keep claims at manageable level, writes James Brewer

NORTH of England P'I Club is planning to eject some of its shipowner members in the February 2006 renewals, a senior member of the management team has revealed.

The move could bring to a halt the strong growth in volume that the club has seen over recent years, culminating in the present figure of around 55m gt, although there could still be 'steady progress'.

Tough action by North of England is likely to be mirrored at several of the 13 member organisations of the International Group of P'I Clubs, where claims inflation is a growing preoccupation.

Ships seeking a new liability home would almost certainly be assessed at considerably higher premiums by their latest provider.

Paul Jennings, deputy managing director at the Newcastle-based mutual, said that the club's considerable efforts to refine the membership portfolio were having a positive influence on claims experience, which had remained relatively consistent despite the upwards trend across the P'I sector generally.