75 YEARS – THE HISTORY OF ITIC

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) celebrates its 75^th Anniversary this year. The Club traces its origins to the Chartered Shipbrokers Protection Association, first formed as an unincorporated association on 2nd December, 1925. The name of the organisation is testimony to the fact that it was founded by a number of prominent members of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers carrying on their business as port agents and brokers in London and ports throughout the country. The Association was formed to tackle the problem of unpaid commissions. There had been a number of cases decided by the English courts in the period between 1916 and 1925. One of these had gone all the way to the House of Lords, the English Supreme Court, and set the procedural basis for shipbrokers to claim their commission until this year’s legal changes reported elsewhere in this issue.

Since the costs of litigating these cases was considerable it was decided that chartered shipbrokers should be given the opportunity to join a defence association very similar to those which already existed for the benefit of ship owners. In this way, the legal costs would be met at least partially by the Association. Membership of the Association was originally confined to firms and companies of which one or more of the partners or directors was a Fellow or Associate of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. The first Chairman was Mr. Joseph Fawcett of Fawcett Coverdale & Co Ltd and the original Secretary was a Mr. Eric J. Edward, a solicitor and partner in the firm of Edward and Childs. The relationship between the management of the Association and the solicitors firm lasted until the 1980’s. Today ITIC is managed by a subsidiary of Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd, a firm specialising in the management of mutual clubs.

In 1937 the Association was incorporated under the Companies Act 1929 as a non-profit making company limited by a guarantee. ITIC remains a non-profit organisation existing for the benefit of its Members. It also still provides debt collection services and since 1992 has recovered about USD 40 million.

It became apparent by the end of the 1930’s that shipbrokers also required insurance cover against claims for professional negligence. A separate Class II Indemnity cover was created for this purpose. At the same time the name was changed to The Chartered Shipbrokers Protection & Indemnity Association Limited to reflect this wider role. Originally all claims were met under a policy issued by Lloyds Underwriters, although the Association agreed to investigate and settle claims on underwriter’s behalf and to pay the associated costs.

The cover provided in those early days was limited to £2,000 any one claim and £20,000 in the aggregate any one year. The original subscription was only one guinea (£1.05) per annum. For Class II Indemnity the charge was 30 shillings (£1.50) per first partner or director and 15 shillings (75p) for each additional partner or director. During the 1960’s it became apparent that ship agents and ship brokers overseas who, at that time, had no connection with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers would appreciate similar insurance and defence cover to that provided by the Association. The then Managers were Hedleys, a firm of solicitors, who were the successors of Edwards and Childs, and they formed a parallel mutual association called The International Ship Brokers & Agents P&I Club Limited (ISBA Club). Within a few years the number of members of ISBA Club had overtaken that of the earlier association and it was felt by the Directors of both Clubs that a merger of the two organisations would create substantial economies.

Accordingly, after resolutions adopted by the members of both Clubs, ISBA Club and CSP&I came together in 1983 to form the Chartered and International Ship Brokers Protection & Indemnity Association Limited (CISBACLUB).

The next milestone for the Club came in March 1985 when the management contract passed from Hedleys to Tindall Riley & Co. The latter were also (and remain so today) the managers of the Britannia Steam Ship Mutual Insurance Association Limited, a mutual insurance club for ship owners.

In 1992 the members of CISBACLUB agreed to merge with Transport Intermediaries Mutual Insurance Association Ltd., (TIM). The latter had been formed in 1985 by the Thos. R. Miller & Son partnership (later incorporated to form Thomas Miller & Co. Limited), with a view to expanding the sources and availability of liability insurance for ship agents, ship brokers and the growing profession of ship managers.

The merger promised, and has provided, a stronger base from which to supply insurance to transport professionals throughout the world. The Club has grown steadily since the merger and currently insures 1,200 members in 82 countries.