Aircraft and marine vessels in the Persian Gulf will be stripped of their wartime insurance policies 48 hours of the breakout of war in Iraq, international underwriters announced. Overnight, insurance prices for businesses, oil workers and journalists in Kuwait, Iraq and Turkey, skyrocketed, nearly doubling the rates charged at the beginning of the week.
According to insurance brokers, cargo transporters could reinstate the coverage, but at prices at least ten-times higher than in the pre-war period. The price hikes are likely to bring most commercial air and sea traffic to and from the Gulf region to a near standstill. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
