American Institute of Marine Underwriters AIMU - Marine Insurance Education and Training

COMI Certification, Training Courses, On Demand Webinars and E Learning Programs in Marine Insurance

Established in 1898 and Located at New York, The American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU) has over 100 hundred years of service as the trade association representing the United States ocean Marine Insurance industry as an advocate, educator and information center. AIMU provides learning opportunities that enable individuals to prepare and develop as marine insurance professionals. Most education opportunities are offered with both onsite and remote attendance options.

The organization has created four formal education courses: Introduction to Ocean Marine Insurance, Introduction to Yacht Insurance, Introduction to Protection and Indemnity Insurance; and Ocean Cargo Claims.

Besides these courses, the institute provides Web-based lectures on coverage clauses, commodities or types of business. These Web lectures are available not only to the AIMU membership but to anyone who wants to expand their knowledge on these topics.

The institute also holds seminars on topics of interest to the industry, such as parametric rolling and terrorism insurance. The institute's affiliated organization on the West Coast, the Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco, likewise holds a biennial seminar with topics of importance to the industry.

COMI Certification

• Certificate of Ocean Marine Insurance (COMI): To earn a Certificate of Ocean Marine Insurance, a student must complete any five of the introductory classes offered by AIMU. The introductory classes include either of the following: Introduction to Cargo Insurance, Introduction to Protection and Indemnity Insurance, Introduction to Hull Insurance, Introduction to Yacht Insurance, Introduction to Bumbershoot Insurance, Introduction to Marine General Liability Insurance, Introduction to Ocean Marine Claims Examiner, Introduction to Ocean Marine Insurance, Introduction to Offshore Energy and Introduction to Reinsurance.

Training Courses

• Choice of Law - Are Federal or State Courts the Master: Since the Supreme Court's Wilburn Boat decision in 1955, the marine insurance industry's only tool for restoring some semblance of the lost uniformity of federal admiralty law has been the consistent enforcement of choice of law clauses. However, the Third Circuit's decision in the Raiders case holds that States can bar the enforcement of these clauses. If it stands, then the Raiders decision is potentially the death of choice of law clauses in maritime contracts.
• Introduction to Bumbershoot and Excess Liabilities: This introductory class will cover types of coverage, risk analysis, underlying requirements, bumbershoot form review, excess liability rating, account structure and other underwriting considerations.
• Marine Insurance Day Seminar: This is the seventeenth annual Marine Insurance Day Seminar, a collaborative effort of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU), American Marine Insurance Forum (AMIF), Association of Average Adjusters of the U.S. and Canada, Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA), and Marine and Insurance Claims Association (MICA).
• Advanced Cargo Claims Class: Topics Covered - Difference in condition, rejection; Concealed Damage; Extra Expense; Debris Removal Named brand / label protection; Warehouse claim handling; Inherent Vice claims; and Domestic transit claims.
• Understanding and Leveraging Stock Throughput Policies: The instructor will discuss advantages of Stock Throughput Policies, policy conditions and markets as well as highlight key features of the current marine market including coverage for Property Damage and unanticipated Incidents at Unnamed Warehouses, as well as implementing Risk Management Strategies, and more.
• Advanced Cargo Underwriting Class: Topics include - Contingent interest - Guarantee of Collectability; Bulk Cargo Coverage; Refrigerated Cargo Clauses; Control of Damaged Goods; Voyage Frustration; Valuation clauses; and Manuscript Form wordings and New Clauses to the Market.
• AIMU Hull Builders Risk Insurance Class: This virtual class will provide an understanding of the exposures in hull builders risk, review coverage forms and underwriting considerations, and address loss control and loss prevention.
• Ethics Basics: Discussion to include - Overview - definition and philosophy of Ethics; code of behavior; ethics v. morals; Organizations devoted to Ethics; Statutes/Regulations/Codes; Ethical duties – to whom; Duty of Competence, diligence and no undue influence; Duty of loyalty; conflicts of interest; Duty of good faith and fair dealing; Fiduciary duties; Truth in advertising; Disclosure of compensation; Civility; and Potential consequences of ethical violations.
• Advanced Hull Underwriting Class: This course will build on the AIMU Introduction to Hull Insurance course. Students will review in further depth and more broadly forms used to insure larger, more sophisticated brown water and coastal vessels, along with US internationally trading vessels. The course will review underwriting approaches for various classes of Hull business and compare the American Institute Hull Clauses with the London Institute Time Hull Clauses and other market forms.
• Advanced Protection and Indemnity Insurance Class: This course is intended to provide an in depth look at Protection and Indemnity underwriting and is a complement to the AIMU Introduction to Protection and Indemnity course. Students will go into a detailed review of forms and clauses as well as examine their implications to the risk. It will address, on an advanced level, the rationale for rating. Manuscript policies and the implications of certain additional clauses will also be discussed.

AMIM 121 Program (On Demand Webinars)

• Introduction to Ocean Marine Insurance
• Maritime Regulation; Maritime Security; Tramp Shipping
• Chartering; Liner Shipping
• Industrial and Special Carriers; Tankers; Vessel Management Companies
• Terminals; Stevedore Contracts; Containerization
• Intermodal Transportation; The Ocean Bill of Lading
• Cargo Insurance Policies
• Cargo Underwriting and Loss Control
• The American Institute Hull Clauses
• Other Hull Forms, Freight, and Loss of Charter Hire
• Marine Liability Coverages for Vessel Owners and Charterers
• Hull and P&I Underwriting
• Other Ocean Marine Coverages
• National Exam Prep

Recorded Webinars On Demand

• Project Cargo for Underwriters and Brokers
• AIMU Offshore Wind Farm Forum
• International Day of Women in Maritime
• AIMU/CBMU Comparing and Contrasting the US and Canadian Marina Liabilities Markets
• High-Performance Polymers in Marine Engineering
• Underwriters of the United States
• Happy at Sea Marine Insurance and Crew Wellbeing
• Auto Excess - Why We Get It Wrong
• Trip in Tow - Insuring and Managing Risks Webinar
• AIMU / IMUA Mold Losses in Transportation
• Steel Shipments - Areas of Concern
• Lightning - Yacht Insurance Underwriting & Considerations
• Vine to Wine and the Fire In Between - Complimentary Webinar
• Eureka! Naval Architecture
• Global Business and Transportation: Insights and Forecasts - Webinar
• State of Marine Reinsurance Market
• Introduction to Liability for Cargo Damage
• History of Marine Insurance in the United States
• Accounting We Will Go
• In the Wake of Doiron: The New Fifth Circuit Test for Maritime Contracts
• Cost Of Medical Care For Non-US Seafarers And Telemedicine
• Understanding Insurance Company Ratings
• Marine Pollution 101
• Working with Actuaries 2.0
• Global Cargo Theft Trends and Security Solutions
• War Risk Policy
• Port Accumulation Modeling: Capturing Your Cargo Footprint
• From Here to Maturity: The "Ultimate" Beginner’s Guide to IBNR - Webinar
• What Year is it? An Explanation of the Differences between Calendar Year, Accident Year, Exposure Year and Underwriting Year
• Freight Forwarders Legal Liability
• American Institute Tug Form
• War Risk Policy
• Tug Form and Towers Liability
• Update on American Institute 2009 Hull Forms
• American Institute Hull War Risks and Strikes
• American Institute Builders Risk Clauses
• American Institute Hull Clauses
• Charterer's Legal Liability
• Particular Average Claims: Sue and Labor
• Particular Average Claims: Collision Liability
• Particular Average Claims: Common Charges, Overtime and Temporary Repairs - Webinar
• Particular Average Claims: Actual and Constructive Total Loss - Claims Consideration
• Particular Average Claims: Inchmaree and Negligence Clause
• Particular Average Claims: Bottom Painting, Application of Deductibles, Unrepaired Damages
• Intro to Ocean Marine Cargo Surveying: Cargo Losses and Cargo Survey Reporting - 4 and 5 in a series of 5
• Intro to Ocean Marine Cargo Surveying: Containerization and Packaging
• Intro to Ocean Marine Cargo Surveying: Surveying & Inspections
• Ocean Marine Cargo Insurance: Introduction - Marine Insurance Defined
• Ocean Marine Cargo Insurance: All Risks, War, Strikes & Terrorism, Duration of the Insurance
• Ocean Marine Cargo Insurance: United States Law & Practice

E-Learn On Demand Courses

• American Institute Hull Forms Course (45 min)
• Cargo Course (2 modules, 80 min)

LAST UPDATED ON Sep 4, 2023