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Howden launches hospitalization cover for seafarers and families
The program, created with Crewsure, targets a coverage gap after crew step off ships, as STCW officer shortages intensify competition for seafarer welfare.
Seafarers lose employer-provided medical and accident cover once they step off a vessel, and an officer shortage is now pushing shipowners and marine brokers to address the resulting duty-of-care and retention challenges, according to Insurance Business. The issue is highlighted in the Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, published jointly by BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping. The report estimates 2.57 million seafarers crew the world’s 85,148 merchant ships, but projects a shortfall of 39,100 STCW-certified officers this year, with a requirement for 113,735 additional officers by 2030 to meet demand. In response, global insurance intermediary Howden has launched SAFER at Home, developed with UK-based Crewsure and supporting Mission to Seafarers. The product provides hospitalization cover for seafarers and their families during the months they spend off contract and off payroll. Under the Maritime Labour Convention, protection and indemnity cover follows a seafarer only as far as their journey home. Howden’s chief growth officer for marine, Captain Hari Subramaniam, said the coverage is designed to close a gap the wider industry has often worked around, noting that seafarers are commonly sole breadwinners and that financial and family pressures are increasingly considered in onboard incident analysis.