Definition of "Abandonment clause"

In marine insurance, clause giving an insured the right to abandon lost or damaged property and still claim full settlement from an insurer (subject to certain restrictions). Two types of losses are provided for under abandonment clauses:

  1. Actual total lossproperty so badly damaged it is unrepairable or unrecoverable; causes include fire, sinking, windstorm damage, and mysterious disappearance. For example, until the 1980s the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland in 1912, was deemed to be unrecoverable and the Commercial Union Insurance Company had paid its owners for their loss due to sinking. Owners of ships that mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle have been able to collect insurance proceeds. Disappearance of pleasure craft due to drug pirates has resulted in indemnification of owners through insurance proceeds.
  2. Constructive total lossproperty so badly damaged that the cost of its rehabilitation would be more than its restored value. For example, a ship and/or its cargo is damaged to such a degree that the cost of repair would exceed its restored value. The insured can abandon the property if (a) repair costs are greater than 50% of the value of the property after it has been repaired and (b) the insurance company agrees to the insured's intent to abandon.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Form of deferred annuity; a life insurance policy that usually guarantees from 120 to 180 monthly income payments to the annuitant at retirement. If the annuitant dies during the deferral ...

Financial analysis method established by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic) to detect problems of property and casualty insurance companies and life and health ...

Relationship of gains from investments (including realized capital gains) resulting from insurance operations to earned premiums. ...

Performance of a deed or function. Certain acts are prohibited from coverage in insurance. For example, if the insured commits a felony, the insured's beneficiary cannot collect under the ...

Provision found in current assumption whole life insurance policies under which the insurance company retains the contractual right to recalculate the premium (after a minimum period of ...

Value of an insurance company or other company that consists of capital and surplus and an estimated value for business on the company's books. ...

Bond guaranteeing that a contractor will perform under the contract in accordance with all specifications of the bid submitted. ...

Trust established under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Code that permits the maintenance of a separate account within the employer's defined benefit pension plan from which to pay the ...

Government agency, under the McCarran-Ferguson act (public law 15), that has no authority over insurance matters to the extent the states regulate insurance to the satisfaction of Congress. ...

Popular Insurance Questions