Floating Insurance Policy: A study of UAE Maritime Law No. 43 of 2023

Abstract

This study is for the floating insurance policy in the new UAE Maritime Law No. 43 of 2023, as we noted that the UAE is a pioneer in the field of modern and beneficial legislation, whether for the merchant, insurance companies, marine carrier, or every relevant person, and it can be said that the package of legislation issued in the UAE Recently, legislation has been supportive and polarizing for investors. The floating insurance policy is defined as “a document that covers all shipments that are transferred to the account of a specific merchant, provided that the merchant notifies the insurer of the details of each shipment.” One of the most important distinguishing characteristics of floating insurance is that it does not precisely specify the goods covered by the insurance when concluding the contract, and the insurer guarantees coverage. Insurance is provided in advance without the need for issuing any new agreement or acceptance that guarantees the insurance of all shipped goods immediately after they are shipped and exposed to the dangers of the sea. We have clarified the legal definition of this legal act: is it a final contract, a promise to contract, or a contract contingent on a suspensive condition? Then we also clarified that the insurer’s obligations The effects of the insured are similar to the effects of a traditional insurance contract, with the exception of some peculiarities of the floating insurance policy that we explained in the research. Finally, we reached several results, which is that the UAE legislator called this document the subscription policy, which is the same as the floating insurance policy, and knowing the type of the document affects the obligations of the parties. We have reached several results, the most important of which is that marine insurance documents always need to be developed to meet market requirements, as 95% of global trade comes from maritime shipping. We have recommended establishing a floating port on the high seas to distribute goods and reduce the cost of maritime shipping to contribute to curbing inflation. We have recommended the necessity of establishing a cooperative fund to protect the global maritime economy, whereby countries contribute shares to the fund to contribute to promoting and protecting maritime trade in the event of catastrophic losses, so as to support what maritime insurance companies cannot cover.