Background

The Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) was created as a Government of India led initiative following geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that led to withdrawal or severe restriction of war risk cover and increased dependence concerns on foreign insurance capacity. The Pool was formed to ensure continuity of maritime insurance protection for Indian trade and shipping during periods of geopolitical disruption. The Pool was launched on 12^th May 2026.

Objectives

• Ensure uninterrupted marine insurance support for Indian trade and maritime interests, especially during global disruptions.
• Develop domestic underwriting capacity for specialized marine risks and reduce dependence on overseas insurance markets.
• Provide financial protection for large maritime exposures, including risks in high-risk and war-risk geographies.
• Enable timely servicing of large claims through an organized sovereign-backed framework.
• Strengthen India’s strategic, economic and maritime resilience.

Pool Capacity and Sovereign Guarantee

The Pool has an aggregate member capacity of INR 927.10 crore (equivalent to USD 100 million). This is the first layer of claim-paying capacity and is contributed by the Pool Members.

In addition, the Pool is backed by a Sovereign Guarantee of up to INR 12,980 crore (equivalent to USD 1.4 billion). This Sovereign Guarantee acts as a Government-backed support mechanism for claims that exceed the Pool Members’ aggregate capacity of USD 100 million, per loss / per event.

Together, the Pool capacity and the Sovereign Guarantee create an overall support framework of USD 1.5 billion, comprising USD 100 million of member capacity and USD 1.4 billion of sovereign-backed support.

Risk Sharing Mechanism and Capacity Structures

Coverage

BMIP supports key marine insurance covers such as cargo war risk, hull and machinery war risk, and protection and indemnity cover (all risks). The applicable policy-level limits include:

Membership, Governance and Operations

BMIP consists of participating general insurance companies and reinsurance companies.