India has strengthened its domestic maritime insurance capacity through the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP), launched in May 2026 to reduce dependence on foreign insurers amid rising geopolitical and trade-related risks. The pool has an underwriting capacity of ₹13,906.50 crore ($1.5 billion), backed by a ₹12,980 crore sovereign guarantee. It covers Indian-flagged vessels, vessels owned or controlled by Indian entities, and cargo vessels connected with India. Around 95% of India’s trade value and 70% of trade volume moves by sea, making reliable marine insurance an important component of trade resilience.
BMIP provides cover for Hull and Machinery, Cargo War, Protection and Indemnity (P&I), and War risks, including losses linked to armed conflict, piracy, terrorism and hostile vessel seizure. Dependence on overseas providers had resulted in an estimated annual outflow of $45–60 million in P&I premiums. Since its operational launch, the pool has issued 3,000 Cargo War policies, 92 Hull War-risk policies and three P&I policies as of September 7, 2026. War-risk premiums have also fallen by around 35–40% from their peak during the West Asia conflict.
The initiative is intended to strengthen India’s maritime financial resilience by providing domestic capacity for higher-value vessels and cargo operating through riskier routes. Claims of up to $100 million are supported through accumulated reserves and reinsurance recoveries, while the sovereign guarantee is available after the pool’s reserves are exhausted for larger claims. The long-term objective includes developing stronger reinsurance partnerships and potentially establishing the pool as a regional maritime insurance anchor in the Indian Ocean Region.
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