Marine insurance professionals in Melbourne and Sydney have formed the Institute of Marine Insurance Practitioners (IMIP) to improve the industry’s understanding of marine cover.

However, it will not replace the Melbourne Marine Insurance Forum or Sydney Marine Discussion Group.

“Education is forefront of our mantra,” Provisional Joint Chairmen Neil Hiller and Simon Farmer say in a statement.

“IMIP has recognised there has been a distinct decline in the level of formal education for marine insurance practitioners, and that the level of specialist knowledge on the subject has been eroded.”

The group’s main objectives are to advocate for and provide a specialist pathway for industry professionals, and support the establishment of professional benchmarks of competency.

A steering committee and various focus groups have been formed to explore the best ways to achieve these goals.

“The market as a whole needs to recognise marine insurance is a specialised area with lots of technical aspects to it,” Mr Farmer told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “I don’t think the wider insurance population does understand it particularly well. The highly technical aspects of it aren’t being covered in training, and that’s where we want to get.”

IMIP hopes eventually to be regarded as the representative of marine insurance practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and first contact point for education matters.