Machinery failures and fires have significantly driven up claim costs in the marine insurance sector, particularly among Nordic insurers. The Nordic Association of Marine Insurers (Cefor) has highlighted an alarming rise in claims exceeding $10 million, alongside an increase in total losses for vessels valued above that threshold. The association’s 2025 hull reports, derived from the Nordic Marine Insurance Statistics database, reveal that this marks the third consecutive year of elevated claims costs, with both major losses and rising repair inflation contributing to the trend.
Cefor noted that machinery damage has surged in recent years, largely attributed to an aging fleet, while fires remain a predominant cause of substantial losses. Although claims costs for smaller vessels in Nordic waters have returned to average levels following a significant impact from fishing vessel losses in 2024, the coastal segment has mirrored the ocean hull segment’s upward trend in machinery-related claims costs. Additionally, claims clusters have emerged in relation to extreme weather events in Norway, further exacerbating the situation.
The report indicates a consistent upward trend in claims frequency and cost indicators. Specifically, fires were responsible for seven out of the thirteen claims exceeding $10 million in 2025, and over the past decade, they have accounted for a striking 40-70% of the most expensive losses, increasingly affecting younger vessels. Furthermore, machinery claims exceeding $500,000 have risen by 30% between 2022 and 2025, leading to a 50% increase in machinery claim costs per vessel.
In the coastal hull segment, the machinery claim costs per vessel in 2024 and 2025 were notably higher than in the preceding years. While machinery claims on fishing vessels remain below the overall coastal average, their frequency is on the rise, indicating a broader trend of escalating costs and claims in the marine insurance landscape.
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