Fidelis, Aon and Marsh have developed a new marine cargo clause for the London Market that is designed to keep the products of modern slavery out of the export supply chain.
The group of brokers and insurers say the clause will make it a condition of marine cargo policies that the insured complies with applicable legal and regulatory obligations in respect of forced and child labour.
“Forced labour in all its forms is an extreme expression of inequality and injustice,” said Charles Mathias, Group Executive Director & Group Chief Risk Officer, Fidelis Insurance.
“The insurance industry is committed to do all it can to prevent association with the abhorrent practices of modern slavery,” Mathias added.
“We sometimes think that slavery is a thing of the past, but it is not – it is real and present in all societies and we want to do our part to root it out.”
The announcement comes after Lloyd’s of London last week apologised for its links to the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The insurance and reinsurance marketplace condemned “the indefensible wrongdoing” of its past and said it would pay reparations via donations to BAME charities.
Many companies in the financial sector are currently facing intense scrutiny over racial issues, after the police killing of African American George Floyd in the US sparked a wave of global protests.
The UK in particular has seen its historical links to the slave trade spotlighted after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down by protestors in Bristol, prompting the removal of similar statues across the nation.
