A huge structure in an earthquake zone? Some insurers might have been shaken…
Fulfilling a century-old national dream, the Rion-Antirion bridge links the Peloponnese to mainland Greece, across the Gulf of Corinth. Over 2,500 meters from end to end, it’s the longest bridge of its kind in the world.
Its colossal size apart, what makes it such a feat of modern engineering is the exceptionally adverse conditions in which it was built. Not only is the water up to 65 meters deep, but the seabed is notably unstable.
More challenging still, this is an area of high seismic activity and the two ends of the bridge are actually founded on different tectonic plates.
A Similarly Well-Built Policy
The insurance broker Nick Dawson brought the bridge business to Lloyd’s via the Marsh office in Paris and according to him, it was “very modern, well-built and it didn’t have too many mobile pieces”.
He realizes however, that the bridge’s sheer size, with a total value of 800 million Euros, was a real test of the market’s capacity and competitiveness. The underwriter, Alistair Robson, from Beazley points out that it also represented a very unusual risk.
“Other insurance firms may have found this risk too difficult but Lloyd’s underwriters pride themselves on insuring the world’s toughest risks”.
In fact, during the first year, a claim was made when lightening damaged some cables at a cost of 750,000 Euros. According to the client Gefyra, the problem couldn’t have been solved quicker.
Other risks worth mentioning
Body parts: Lloyd’s was one of the pioneers in this type of insurance. Marlene Dietrich, one of Lloyd’s clients, insured her legs and America Ferrara the USA ‘Ugly Betty’ star has her smile insured for 10 million dollars.
Entertainment: Lloyd’s insures the Oscars Award Ceremony and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
