Loss adjuster Crawford & Company has created a new national marine unit to oversee all marine transit, cargo, liability and hull losses.

CEO Andrew Bart says while the company has always done some marine work, this is a specialist division that it will expand.

Marine insurance rates have jumped this year as the industry struggles to cope with the rise in piracy.

“We see that there is a need in the market,” Mr Bart told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “If anything with the current economic climate there’s a decline in the requirement for marine services because there’s less trade.

“But we feel that with an eye to the future there is, and will increasingly be, a demand for capability and for it to be supported by the right infrastructure that a firm such as Crawford can provide.”

He says there has already been positive feedback from underwriters about the unit, which started running in early April.