For marine insurers on Canada’s West Coast, the biggest threats aren’t coming from wildfires or floods, but from aging fleets, tightening regulations, and disappearing fishing opportunities.
“We’re not seeing as much of an impact of the big disasters,” said Amanda Crosbie (pictured), vice president at Nesika Insurance Services Inc., a brokerage focused on commercial marine risks. “You don’t have a wildfire coming through and wiping out all your boats, because we’re on the coast.”
Instead, operators are being forced to make tough decisions as environmental changes hit their bottom line. “There’s less fish, so there’s a lot more boats that are tied up,” said Crosbie. “We’re seeing a lot more clients pivot into different industries, or leave fishing altogether.”
Soaring fuel costs and uncertainty around tariffs are also holding clients back. “They’re not quite sure with the economic conditions how things are going to go... so there’s a bit of stagnation.”
Those pressures are directly reshaping coverage. In the past, Crosbie said $1 million to $2 million was typical for protection and indemnity (P&I) coverage. That’s no longer enough.
“We’ve been encouraging our clients to carry a minimum of $3 million. Now we’re pushing a lot more towards $5 million, even $150 million for our larger clients,” she said. “Especially with things getting a lot more... people are a lot more concerned with the environment.”
The concern is practical. A spill or grounding near sensitive areas like Haida Gwaii could trigger an expensive clean-up. “You want to make sure you have the money to actually remediate that... there’s no limit on that.”
Meanwhile, older vessels are triggering underwriter caution. “Out here, it’s not uncommon for us to have a fishing vessel that’s 1970s, 1980s, and the engine’s original to the boat,” Crosbie said. “Parts for a 30-, 40-, 50-year-old engine are a lot harder to find.”
With delays in sourcing parts and labour shortages adding to claims complexity, some markets are pulling back from agreed value terms and unlimited machinery coverage. “It takes longer to get a claim done,” she said. “Underwriters are a bit more wary.”
While retired commercial fishers rarely shift into tourism, those already operating in the sport fishing sector are testing other revenue streams. “They’re now providing sightseeing tours, or they’re wanting to get into whale watching or bare boat charters,” said Crosbie.
But that shift isn’t always underwriter-friendly. “Bare boat charters aren’t the most popular risk... and there’s a lot of specific regulations around whale watching,” she said. “That can really affect whether or not underwriters are willing to offer that coverage.”
Crosbie’s background in microbiology and immunology may not apply directly to marine risks – but her training shapes how she reads policy language. “Going through wordings and explaining the differences and why these exclusions are there... I think I have an advantage.”
That’s becoming more relevant as seafood traceability evolves. “Previously, you’d be able to track a contaminated fish back to a third party – but now you can trace it back to the specific boat,” she said. “We’re encouraging our commercial fishing clients now to buy CGLs... in case they’re dragged into a lawsuit.”
Data-driven risk reduction is gaining ground in commercial marine. Nesika has long promoted audited safety programs like the Small Vessel Compliance Program (SVCP) program, both aimed at reducing claims.
“We’ve seen a big decrease in overall claims just when clients have those audited, in place, and are actually running through those drills,” Crosbie said.
Larger fleets are also adopting mechanical record software that flags preventative maintenance. “It’ll tell you, ‘Hey, this is coming up for replacement,’” she said. “It really helps remove that doubt – you’ve done the maintenance you’re required to do.”
Crosbie also sees a growing role for AI in streamlining claims. “You can have it examine the facts of the claim and spit out, yes, this sounds reasonable,” she said.
While larger brokerages have dedicated marine divisions, many mid-sized operators fall into a coverage gap. That’s where Nesika finds its edge.
“A lot of our clients are owner-operators... they’re kind of left out in the cold, almost,” said Crosbie. “They don’t have access, necessarily, to that real expertise.”
That expertise comes from experience. “We’ll pick up a client and say, ‘Oh, this is a pleasure craft policy with just a weird commercial endorsement,’ and that isn’t what you’re doing.”
Crosbie’s father, Tom – Nesika’s president – was a commercial fisherman for 20 years. He’s also a certified shipwright and marine engineer. “We have that really niche experience that just isn’t available from any other brokerage of our size,” she said.
In a sector defined more by aging fleets, ecological oversight, and regulatory churn than catastrophe losses, that niche knowledge might be the only safe harbour left.
