Event Agenda
October 28, 2024
Registration & Badge Pickup
2:00 PM-9:00 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
Meet The Speakers Reception
6:00 PM-9:00 PM
The Atlantic Ballroom
Appropriate Business Attire
October 29, 2024
Continental Breakfast
7:00 AM-8:00 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom | Foyer
Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:00 AM-8:20 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom
They didn’t think about this at Lloyds coffee house
8:20 AM-9:15 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom
Marine Insurance and Maritime Law is centuries old but recent changes in the industry, specifically in the marine insurance arena have caused the highest court in the U.S. to look at contemporary marine insurance and vessel operations in a new light. Federal and State level decisions are changing the way we interpret and apply policy wording. Other concerns are focused on the vessel owner and insurers responsibilities at the inception of the insurance policy and during the term of the policy. This topic cannot be offered without including a discussion about recent catastrophic marine events and how the law looks upon the vessel operators and managers in regard to responsibilities for their actions and subsequent damages that oftentimes include loss of life.
Show Me The Money
9:15 AM-10:10 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom
As long as there have been vessels for sale, the question about valuation is an early part of every seller and buyer conversation. This discussion occurs between two casual seller/buyers, between a broker and seller, broker and buyer, or a new boat dealer with a contemporary showroom selling a high-end recognized brand name product line. This subject is not a new one but is always at the forefront of selling insurance (valuation), handling a marine loss (post incident value), or purchase and sale transactions (what someone is willing to pay). Agreed cash values and actual values may sometimes be too far apart when there is a loss. Settlement negotiations between the owner and insured, or subrogation attorneys looking at third parties need to know the value of the vessel immediately before the loss as a starting point and then post incident values must be determined regardless of whether the vessel is a constructive total loss or partial loss.
Morning Break
10:10 AM-10:30 AM
Keynote Address: Innovation does not always include engineering
10:30 AM-11:00 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom
The past several decades have offered advancements in materials, fabrication and electronics technologies that provide endless possibilities for the back-yard mechanic or low volume production shop. Off-the-shelf raw materials, mechanical components and electronic controls are affordable thus allowing anyone to obtain and then assemble any type of small or large “contraption,” often based upon what they believe will work, not based upon sound engineering and product testing before use. One example is the recent loss of the TITAN submarine in the cold dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean. What were the main factors in this loss? Could it have been improper use of technology, poor or lack of engineering, materials or construction defects, basic design (concept) issues or just pushing the envelope too close to the edge? The simple question is to ask why this loss occurred when there is (and are) suitable submersible vehicles built to high standards and certifications to do the same task successfully and safely for the persons onboard. Without innovation we do not advance technologically but engineering, common sense and safety also have a place in this discussion.
Information Overload
11:00 AM-11:55 AM
The Las Olas Ballroom
“Hello Alexa,” please tell me something I really don’t need to know today. We live in a digital world of stored data and accessibility to that information is astounding compared to just 10 years ago. Data collection and use of it today is an accepted means to do business, to manage our personal lives and have access to knowledge about anything. Yachts have become sophisticated repositories of digital data for equipment manufacturers to monitor performance, maintenance intervals, assist with longevity or simply tracking a vessel’s movements. What is the value of this data and how can it be used by insurers when evaluating a loss regardless of the circumstances? Who owns this data and who is entitled to it? Is it privileged information? What about privacy and spoliation issues that should have been addressed by the legal entities long before a loss occurs.
Announcements
11:55 AM-12:00 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
Lunch Buffet
12:00 PM-1:30 PM
It’s not your typical Air B&B (Charter Basics)
1:30 PM-2:30 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
The illegal charters topic is well documented, discussed and presented to the insurance and legal arenas but the heat is on and the temperature continues to rise. Back to basics, we will discuss bareboat charters, time charters, voyage charters and the carriage of passengers for hire. What are the requirements and how do the recent changes in the Limitation of Liability Act (LOLA) excluding certain types of vessels such as those defined in the United States Code of Federal Regulations Subchapter-T effect guests, passengers, charterers and owners? The continual failure of the small boat rental industry to comply with individual state livery statutes is an example that the subject of chartering (renting a wave-runner or 16-foot runabout is a bareboat charter) needs to be better monitored and perhaps enforced by the industry, not relying upon local, state and federal agencies alone. Should insurers and law firms take a more active role on this topic? Charter contracts have value but only if both parties who are signatory to the contract fully understand their responsibilities within the agreement.
Classless
2:30 PM-3:30 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
We hear the terms classification, built to class, maintained in-class, class approved, class certificates, flag state certificates, suspension of class, out of class, but what does this mean? We also hear the catchy terms MCA, MLA, Red-Flag Boat, Foreign Flag. What is to be gained by designing, building and maintaining a vessel “in class” or to the applicable flag-state requirements? Is there value added or limited return on the investment of time and money? The issuance and endorsement of the certificates should be proof to the insurer, charterer, owner, finance company, potential buyers and other interested parties that the vessel is in all respects, in good order. Adjunct to the class surveyors and the naval architects who design the vessels, the repairers have an obligation to ensure any work performed on the vessel meets or exceeds the class standards. This panel will offer some much needed facts about the way the system of classification is intended to produced better vessels which should minimize the insurers risks.
Afternoon Break
3:30 PM-4:00 PM
The Fast and the Furious
4:00 PM-5:00 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
Any sport that includes a component of speed will benefit by making the equipment or vehicle lighter, stronger and more powerful. Some basic examples include Formula-1 cars, America’s Cup sailboats, downhill skiing equipment, racing bicycles and high-performance powerboats. The vessels we refer to range from 45 to 65 feet in length and have the ability to operate at sustained high speeds in offshore conditions. Limited only by the amount of power than can be carried onboard the industry has embraced the large center-console market and brought this to the forefront of recreational boat sales. Today, a 50-foot vessel with 6 x 400 HP motors bolted to the transom is not an unusual sight. For the boat builders, in the realm of High-Performance, more is better and it sells boats. For the insurers, can you insure it and what qualifications should the operator have to drive a vessel with 60,000 pounds displacement at speeds far in excess of 50 knots?
Closing Remarks & Vacation Raffle
5:00 PM-5:15 PM
The Las Olas Ballroom
Post-Seminar Cocktail Reception
5:15 PM-8:00 PM
