FINAL OFFER: WAR INSURANCE - A Comprehensive Analysis of How to Strengthen Swedish Resilience by Analyzing the Interconnection of State War Insurance and Access to Ships in Times of War

Abstract

For Sweden, state war insurance plays a central role and is essential for its government preparedness. The aggravated security situation raises questions in respect to its rearmament of the military defence as well as how to maintain its overall transport capacity in the event of war. Sweden’s ability to ensure its transport capacity during war is reliant on availability of insurance, as well as ships. Although the need for state intervention is unlikely since the insurance market has during the last two decades proven capable of handling risks, it is of importance for the State to have prepared frameworks for transitioning the risks in times of war. There is a need to clarify the organizational structure and coordination between the authorities and the commercial market. To provide a deeper and a more comprehensive understanding, the analysis is therefore based both on a literature review and on interviews conducted with key stakeholders within the Swedish insurance market. It is assessed that state war insurance and requisition of ships becomes an integral part of the Government’s preparedness in times of war for the operation and ensurement of continued supply. Even if state war insurance is considered to be a final offer, the development of state war insurance as well as bareboat registry law is important for the resilience of the Swedish maritime sector.