please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . february 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . december 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message assuranceforeningen gard gjensidig type marine insurers industry insurance founded 1907 headquarters arendal norway area served world wide key people rolf thore roppestad ceo products p & i marine and energy insurance revenue usd 991 million year ending 20.02.2015 number of employees 460 2015 website www.gard.no assuranceforeningen gard is the largest protection & indemnity insurer among the thirteen members of the international group of p & i clubs and ranks second in the marine insurance industry behind allianz . its clients include shipowners and operators shipyards and companies involved in the upstream oil and gas markets . the group employs more than 450 people in 13 offices in arendal athens bergen bermuda gothenburg helsinki hong kong imabari london new york oslo singapore rio and tokyo . contents 1 history 2 business 2.1 shipowners operators and charterers 2.2 marine builders risk 2.3 upstream oil and gas markets 2.4 small craft 2.5 defence 3 references history edit assuranceforeningen gard was founded in 1907 . the establishment of this new marine mutual reflected the historical importance of arendal as a shipping centre but it was also driven by owners of sailing ships reluctance to subsidise the liabilities arising from steam operations . although gard s p & i business has its origins from this period its marine activities can be traced back to as far as 1867 with the establishment of olus which later became part of the storebrand group . with time the importance of arendal as a major norwegian shipping hub began to wane and also the second world war took a heavy toll on the association s owners . as a result by 1945 the gard s membership had shrunk severely . in the post war period gard progressively regained its position as a major p & i club . this development was characterised by two factors the substantial growth of the norwegian national fleet between 1950 and 1970 and the increasingly international nature of the membership . while the association retains its norwegian identity it has become a global p & i club where less than 30 % of the current entered tonnage is norwegian owned or controlled . after having managed if s marine and energy book for more than three years the committee of assuranceforeningen gard resolved in october 2003 to purchase this portfolio . business edit the group s business revolves around five client segments full details are available at 1 shipowners operators and charterers edit the business unit which is the largest source of premium volume provides liability property and income insurances to shipowners and operators . offering tailor made covers to suit individual operators as well as many non standard p & i shipping covers . liability insurance known as p & i insurance protects the shipowner against third party liabilities and expenses arising from the ownership and operation of ships . the insurance is provided through a mutual structure which means that the buyers of the insurance are effectively the insurer . one of the particularities of the p & i clubs is that they participate in a claims sharing and collective reinsurance purchasing arrangement through the international group . the reinsurance programme is the largest in the world and has a capacity exceeding usd 5.5 billion . the arrangement due to its size and structure enables the clubs to significantly reduce their risk capital requirements in a cost effective way . citation needed the resulting savings should hence over time be reflected in the premium levels shipowners pay for their p & i cover . property insurance covers the assured against losses that may occur to the vessel and her equipment as a result of an accident while income insurance protects against losses where the ship is wholly or partially deprived of income as a result of it being out of operation . these insurances are provided by gard on a commercial basis rather than through the mutual organisation . the earnings from this business are therefore retained for the benefit of the mutual members the buyers of mutual p & i cover . marine builders risk edit the gard group also provides covers for marine builder s risks . this provides cover for the shipbuilding industry against the risks of building vessels from keel laying to delivery and for conversion projects . a range of covers related to the newbuilding process such as towage delay in delivery non delivery also fall under this business unit . mortgage covers are also written for banks and financial institutions . these covers protect policyholder against the perils of non payment of outstanding loans and interests in sailing vessels i.e. they are not linked to newbuilding projects . upstream oil and gas markets edit gard s third business unit provides insurance solutions for companies in the upstream oil and gas markets these include large oil producers as well as contractors operating mobile offshore units such as accommodation units and fpsos . cover ranges from traditional property and casualty to liability insurances . small craft edit for operators and owners of small crafts such as passenger and local ferries fishing vessels tugs dredgers coastal cargo carriers pushers pontoons barges and more . defence edit insurance against legal and other costs incurred in establishing and defending claims from business operations . product defence cover references edit http www.gard.no ikbviewer page covering risks http www.gard.no annual reports 1 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title assuranceforeningen gard & oldid 737835932 categories marine insurance companiesmutual insurance companiescooperatives in norwaycompanies based in aust agderinsurance companies of norwaycompanies established in 19071907 establishments in norwayhidden categories articles lacking reliable references from february 2011all articles lacking reliable referencesarticles with a promotional tone from december 2012all articles with a promotional tonepages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from february 2011 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent 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