London:

A group of brokers and insurers in the London market has come together to announce a new approach to keeping the products of modern slavery out of the export supply chain.

 

Fidelis, Aon and Marsh have developed a clause which makes it a condition of marine cargo policies that the insured complies with applicable legal and regulatory obligations in respect of forced and child labor.

 

“Forced labor in all its forms is an extreme expression of inequality and injustice. The insurance industry is committed to do all it can to prevent association with the abhorrent practices of modern slavery. We sometimes think that slavery is a thing of the past, but it is not – it is real and present in all societies and we want to do our part to root it out,” said Charles Mathias, group executive director & group chief risk officer, Fidelis Insurance.

“The insurance industry is committed to do all it can to prevent association with the abhorrent practices of modern slavery.We sometimes think that slavery is a thing of the past, but it is not – it is real and present in all societies and we want to do our part to root it out,”,” Mathias added.

The announcement comes after Lloyd’s of London last week apologised for its links to the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.

 

The insurance and reinsurance marketplace condemned “the indefensible wrongdoing” of its past and said it would pay reparations via donations to BAME charities.

 

The UK in particular has seen its historical links to the slave trade spotlighted after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down by protestors in Bristol, prompting the removal of similar statues across the nation.