NorthStandard reports strong results and strategic momentum

LONDON: NorthStandard reports strong financial results, continued strategic progress and enhanced support for shipowners operating in an increasingly complex and uncertain global environment.  

Global marine insurer NorthStandard has reported a strong set of financial results in its Annual Review 2026, as it pushes forward with its strategy to grow geographic reach and service capability.

The P&I club reported total premium income of US$938m for the 2025/26 insurance year, up 5.8% on the $886m it earned in the previous year. In 2025, investments returned a robust 9.5% and free reserves increased by $123m to reach $923m, strengthening capital coverage above Standard & Poor’s “AAA” level.

NorthStandard’s underwriting performance also improved in 2025, with a combined ratio of 105.5%, against 114% in the previous year, based on an average year for pool claims compared to an extraordinary 2024 and a reduction in the number and value of large NorthStandard claims.

Three years after the merger of North P&I and The Standard Club, NorthStandard has delivered against the objectives set out at the time of the merger, including the strong development of its specialty lines, new offices, expanded resources and new partnerships to further improve its service offering for Members. At the same time, the club has preserved the distinctive Member-centric approach that characterised the clubs in the past. As Managing Director Paul Jennings noted, “Our teams invest time to understand each Member’s world, and we apply our expertise and judgment to find tailored solutions where traditional approaches sometimes fall short.”

Increased scale and deeper financial foundations have allowed the club to respond to a maritime world where geopolitical risk has “increasingly shaped the day to day operating environment for shipowners”, the Club’s Annual Review notes.

“We’ve reevaluated the impact geopolitics make on the business — and reorientated the Club to deal with these complexities as the norm,” said Managing Director Jeremy Grose, reflecting on wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, stop-go tariffs and sanctions.

The position of P&I clubs “at the intersection of commerce, law and geopolitics” had been highlighted by events in the Strait of Hormuz, added Grose. The club provided a vast amount of guidance to Members on a wide range of claims and more general enquiries, while its enhanced war risks capability provided Members with further support.  

On sanctions, the club has also invested to create an even stronger service for Members. “We are a service-based business and Members come first, which is why we’ve built a dedicated sanctions capability reporting into the General Counsel,” commented Paul Jennings. “Sanctions risk is not a front‑line underwriting ‘add‑on’ but a central governance and risk discipline. Some of our most experienced people are in specialist positions where their judgement on high-stakes decisions matters most.”

A collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute also highlighted how EU/G7 sanctions policies had created a growing fleet of sanctioned, elderly, commercially impaired vessels which could not be scrapped, added Jennings. “This unintended consequence raises profound issues around seafarer welfare and of course the environment.”

During 2025, the Club also strengthened its product offering in a number of areas. It consolidated its Coastal & Inland and Sunderland Marine teams under common leadership, and offered a ‘one stop shop’ for small and specialist craft. It established a formal partnership with NIORD in offshore renewables as part of its strategy for growth in the sector. It also established an Upstream Energy and Marine & Energy Liabilities team to drive these distinct areas of focus, building on its experience in Offshore & Renewables.

New partnership agreements were also central to NorthStandard’s ambitions for Loss Prevention where the aim has been to deliver a step change in safety. These included an upfront subsidy for Members adopting Orca AI situational awareness, and a partnership with Signol – the behaviour change platform which engages and motivates crew to implement fuel saving practices. Recent research has demonstrated the operational value of NorthStandard’s partnership investments, with vessels operating with Orca AI experiencing a 52% reduction in high-severity close encounters.

Online tools such as ECDIS Training Assessment, developed with the UK Hydrographic Office, have proved especially impactful as part of NorthStandard’s growing focus on best practice. Other digital innovations this year came through the launch of Port Risks Online, which provides Members automated advice in response to vessel AIS updates.

“The shipping industry is navigating profound change, as technological advancement and the fuel transition reshape how vessels are operated, crewed, and maintained,” commented Grose. “Our loss prevention services are evolving in step, ensuring Members can adopt new fuels, technologies, and operating models with confidence.”

“When risk is persistent, but also nuanced and fast-evolving, the ability to deliver deep expertise at scale and invest in innovation really matter in P&I service provision,” added Jennings. “The volatility seen in investment markets over recent months also demonstrate the importance of holding a sizeable capital buffer.”