Transposing ESP into EGP

Term lesson 13

The four main issues

• Language

• Textual strategies

• Terminology

• Documentation

Language problems

• Use of specific, often archaic language resources – herein : in this contract– hereon : added to this contract– hereunder : which is mentioned later in this

contract…. – the said vessel : the ship mentioned in the

contract

Support verbs

• Some support verbs are restricted to special language– to incur an expense

• to spend money

• Some support verbs are common to LSP and LGP– to take out an insurance policy

• souscrire un contrat d’assurance

Extensive use of the passive

• “There shall be deducted from such claim for cost or expenses, the value of any salvage from or which might have been recovered from the wreck, inuring, or which might have inured, to the benefit of the Assured.”

• Who does what ?

= the insurer will not pay the equivalent of any money that the shipowner has made out of the remains of the wreck.

Textual problems

• Embedded constructions

• “Liability for loss of life of, or personal injury to, or illness of, any person, excluding, however, unless otherwise agreed by endorsement hereon, liability under any Compensation Act to any employee of the Assured, (other than a seaman) or in case of death to his beneficiaries or others.”

Bracket the inserted phrases

Liability for loss of life of, or personal injury to, or illness of, any person, excluding, however, unless otherwise agreed by endorsement hereon, liability under any Compensation Act to any employee of the Assured, (other than a seaman) or in case of death to his beneficiaries or others.

Liability for loss of life of, or personal injury to, or illness of, any person, (excluding, however, (unless otherwise agreed by endorsement hereon), liability under any Compensation Act to any employee of the Assured, (other than a seaman)) or, in case of death, to his beneficiaries or others.

What it boils down to

The insurance company will pay out if the insured dies, or is injured or becomes ill. If the insured dies, then the payout goes to the beneficiary.

This can be altered though if a special agreement has been signed.

It also excludes liability already covered by legislation.

Referring back and forth

• The various clauses depend on initial statements.

• The previous clause lays out what the insurance company will actually cover

“The Assurer hereby undertakes to make good to the Assured or the Assured’s executors, administrators and/or successors, all such loss and/or damage and/or expense as the Assured shall as owners of the vessel named herein have become liable to pay and shall pay on account of the liabilities, risks, events and/or happenings herein set forth:”

Terminology problems

• Terms convey specialised knowledge, and have to be learnt at the same time as the

knowledge they convey.

• Very often the only solution is to give an informal definition,

and weave this into your text.

Simple terms : use synonyms

“Loss, damage or expense arising out of or in connection with the custody, care, carriage or delivery of specie, bullion, precious stones, precious metals, jewelry, silks, furs, bank notes…”- carriage : transport– specie : precious metal in the form of coins– bullion : precious metal in bulk form (not coin

or jewellery)

four-fourths running-down clause

• Clause 4. Liability for loss of, or damage to, any other vessel or craft, or to the freight thereof, or property on such other vessel or craft, caused by collision with the vessel named herein, insofar as such liability would not be covered by full insurance under the […] four-fourths running-down clause

Running down clause

• Running down clause : Clause de dommage par collision :  Clause utilisée en assurance maritime pour indiquer une collision avec un autre navire. http://www.aon.com/ca/fr/individuals/glossary/c_terms.jsp

Four forths

• Four fourths collision liability : Some shipowners have placed full (four-fourths) collision liability under their ...

Collision (RDC) and striking (FFO) ...

– www.gard.no/gard/Publications/ GardNews/RecentIssues/gn178/art_5.htm

Cross-liability“Claims under this clause shall be settled on the principle of cross-

liabilities to the same extent only as provided in the running-down clause above mentioned.”

• Cross liabilities : Where this Policy is in the joint names of more than one party we will deal with any claim as though a separate policy had been issued to each of them. = Responsabilités croisées. Luce JAME, L’anglais des assureurs. Paris Belin. 1996.

• “Where two persons are indemnified by a liability policy, it is possible that one of them may become entitled to sue the other. A cross-liabilities clause can be inserted in the policy to make it clear that the liability of one to the other is covered.” http://www.ipb.ie/glossary.htm

documentation

• Terminology and documentation are closely linked– A terminology is only as reliable as the documentation it is based

on– If the documentation is not properly authorized, the terms may

not be adequately defined

• Primary documentation– Example : Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act.

• Secondary documentation– on-line glossaries

• cross-check• give more weight to sources which are directly involved with

shipping and insurance.

Beginning of a contract

• The Assurer hereby undertakes to make good to the Assured or to the Assured’s executors, administrators and/or successors, all such loss and/or damage and/or expense as the Assured shall as owners of the vessel named herein have become liable to pay and shall pay on account of the liabilities, risks, events and/or happenings herein set forth.

Rewriting 1

• The Assurer hereby undertakes to make good to the Assured or to the Assured’s executors, administrators and/or successors, all such loss and/or damage and/or expense as the Assured shall as owners of the vessel named herein have become liable to pay and shall pay on account of the liabilities, risks, events and/or happenings herein set forth.

• In this contract the Insurance company promises to pay compensation to the person or company insured, or to the person in charge of carrying out their will, or to the person in charge of settling the affairs if there is no will, or the people entitled to the property.

Rewriting 2

• The Assurer hereby undertakes to make good to the Assured or to the Assured’s executors, administrators and/or successors, all such loss and/or damage and/or expense as the Assured shall as owners of the vessel named herein have become liable to pay and shall pay on account of the liabilities, risks, events and/or happenings herein set forth.

• This compensation is to cover losses, damage or expenses (or all of these) which the person or company insured will have to pay as owner of the ship which is named in this contract for the risks which are described in the following clauses. These may be responsibility to others, or events which concern the ship and its cargo.

Examples of transposition

• Clause (2) Liability for hospital, medical, or other expenses necessarily and reasonably incurred in respect of loss of life of, personal injury to, or illness of any member of the crew of the vessel named herein or any other person. Liability hereunder shall also include burial expenses not exceeding Two Hundred ($ 200) Dollars, when necessarily and reasonably incurred by the Assured for the burial of any seaman of said vessel.

context

• This clause specifies that hospital and medical fees will be covered by the insurance company.

LSP LGP

• Liability for hospital, medical, or other expenses necessarily and reasonably incurred in respect of loss of life of, personal injury to, or illness of any member of the crew of the vessel named herein or any other person. Liability hereunder shall also include burial expenses not exceeding Two Hundred ($ 200) Dollars, when necessarily and reasonably incurred by the Assured for the burial of any seaman of said vessel.

• The insurer will pay compensation for hospital fees or any other expenses linked with sickness or accidents or even death of any member of the crew of the ship named in the contract or to any other person. This compensation includes the costs of a funeral, although there is a limit of $200 for this, if the shipping company insured under this contact has to pay for the funeral of one of its crew in the normal run of events.

Spelling out the implications

• Clause 5 Liability for loss of or damage to any other vessel or craft, or to property on such other vessel or craft, not caused by collision, provided such liability does not arise by reason of a contract made by the Assured.

• The insurance company (also) promises to pay compensation [not just for the ship that is insured but also] for a ship or any other boat that sinks (=loss) or is damaged, and for damage or loss of anything on the ship through the fault of the transport company insured even if this is not caused by a collision. This promise does not hold, however, if there is already a contract with the insured company.

Continued….

• Where there would be a valid claim hereunder but for the fact that the damaged property belongs to the Assured, the Assurer shall be liable as if such damaged property belonged to another, but only for the excess over any amount recoverable under any other insurance applicable on the property

• If there has been damage which would normally have been compensated for - if the damaged goods had not belonged to the insured company - , the insurer will pay for the extra cost not already covered by an existing insurance policy.

Lay-up returns• At the expiration of this policy,

the Assurer is to return for each thirty (30) consecutive days during the term of this insurance the vessel may be laid up in a safe port; or for each thirty (30) consecutive days during the term of this insurance the vessel may be laid up in a safe port without loading and/or discharging and without crew or cargo on board, provided the Assured give written notice to the Assurer as soon as practicable after the commencement and the termination of such lay-up period

• Payback for periods when the ship was not in use

• When the insurance contract ends, the insurer will pay back the money that the insured has paid for the insurance for each 30-day period during which the ship was not in use and stayed in a safe port instead. In order to get the payback, the insured must tell the dates of such periods to the insurer in writing as soon as possible