P&I Renewal 2026 — What Changed for RoRo Tonnage
The February 2026 P&I renewal cycle priced car carriers harder than any prior year in living memory. The reasons read like a casualty inventory.
The International Group of P&I Clubs went into the 20 February 2026 renewal with a clear message to vehicle-carrier operators: cargo loss exposure, salvor-related liability, and wreck-removal obligations have all risen materially. The renewal pricing reflected the message — and the questionnaires went further than the pricing did.
What the renewal questionnaires asked
- Specific EV-percentage thresholds the operator applies and the policy that enforces them.
- Detection-layer architecture and audit trail — not just presence of sensors.
- Loading-interface SoC verification procedure.
- Crew training package and the cadence of refresher training.
The pricing signal
Average call increases on vehicle-carrier accounts ran well above the cross-class average. Operators that could produce independent detection telemetry and a documented loading procedure negotiated within the mid-band; operators with no such evidence faced the top of the band. This is the underwriting layer doing the work that regulation has not yet done.
Sources
- International Group of P&I Clubs — Annual Reports and 20 February renewal-cycle briefings.
- Marsh — "Marine P&I Renewal Market Report 2026."
- Gallagher — "International Group P&I Renewal Briefing 2026."
- WTW (Willis Towers Watson) — Marine P&I Renewal Notes.
- [VERIFY: Cross-class average call comparisons — individual Club call statements are public; cross-segment aggregation is broker analysis, not Club output.]
Continue the thread
How Insurance Pricing Is Quietly Reshaping the RoRo Trade
After the 2022 PCTC losses, hull and cargo underwriters have moved from "EV surcharge" to outright capacity withdrawal on certain routes. The fleet has to respond.
IUMI's "Fixed-First" Approach — What It Means on the Bridge
The 2025 IUMI best-practice update made the priority order explicit: activate fixed systems before any manual intervention. The reasoning is sharper than most operators have absorbed.