Revised rules governing global maritime losses will benefit the shipping community and insurers, according to the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

The Belgium-based Comite Maritime International adopted the revised York-Antwerp Rules (YAR) at its convention in New York earlier this month.

YAR 2016 will reduce insurers’ exposure to general average, which establishes the rights and obligations of parties when cargo must be jettisoned from a ship.

“The new YAR 2016 introduces some helpful measures, which, if incorporated into contracts, may reduce insurers’ general average exposure by a few percentage points,” IUMI says. “Overall, IUMI welcomes the YAR 2016 as being an improvement.”

The rules cover various expenses arising from imperilled ships. Claims are usually made against a ship’s insurer and shipowner’s insurance underwriters.