Marine Benefits was founded by Norwegian Hull Club in 2006 with a vision of supporting shipowners, seafarers and their families through better access to healthcare. Over the past 20 years, the company has grown into a global organisation serving maritime communities around the world.
As CEO of Norwegian Hull Club and Chairman of the Board of Marine Benefits, Hans Christian Seim has followed the company’s development closely. In this anniversary reflection, he shares his thoughts on Marine Benefits’ first 20 years and the opportunities that lie ahead:
Twenty years ago, around a bonfire, an idea was born.
Shipping was booming, order books were at an all-time high, and Norwegian Hull Club’s members were struggling to get hold of qualified crew, train them and, more importantly, retain them. The idea was to offer health insurance to the crew and their families whilst at home, as health services were scarce in countries where the typical seafarers come from.
The Club’s slogan, “Expect More”, is a key driver for the offering and our culture in the Group. Founding Marine Benefits was all about adding value and offering something new in a mature health insurance market. With a solid foundation from the Club, and a wealth of new ideas, the Marine Benefits adventure became a reality.
And what would be more natural than to make use of competence from the world’s number one seafarer nation, the Philippines, when establishing the operations centre handling all the members of Marine Benefits.
A few years “down the strait”, Marine Benefits had solid growth and more than 23k members, but soon encountered a perfect storm, the Financial Crisis in 2008. Facing headwinds and the fact that Marine Benefits was a joint venture, we realised that we needed to own and drive development ourselves, the Norwegian Hull Club way, driven by the innovative culture present throughout the Group
The Industrial Revolution 4.0, digitalisation, was far ahead of us, at least for the insurance industry, but the team put automation of processes and user IT tools high on the agenda already at the time. The reasoning was clear; handling multinational crew, large volumes, creating efficient processes for members and hospitals, and relying on electronic transactions would bring something new to the market. However, IT tools were only part of the magic formula; the whole magic was and is created by dedicated and committed people.
It took five years, and the MLC Convention coming into force, for us to get back to the same number of members. The resilience and belief of the employees, together with a parent company with a long-term view, meant Marine Benefits was again prepared and set sail for the next growth phase. Numerous initiatives were put into force; becoming a Coverholder at Lloyd’s, receiving underwriting and TPA authority, and launching the second generation of the core insurance system, to mention a few. The drive and passion of the employees was the incubation tank, production line and market deployment of the whole company.
Health and medical care of seafarers is at the heart of Marine Benefits. Combined with the amount of data gathered in a secure GDPR environment, Marine Benefits saw a unique opportunity to share insights with its clients in order to improve the physical and psychological health of seafarers.
The Re:Fresh concept came to life! Teaming up with PhD resources on physical and mental wellbeing, Marine Benefits has launched several studies and publications, including more than 34,000 seafarers. I’ve been told that it is the largest study conducted by a private company within this area, a great achievement by such a small team on a global scale!
Fast-forwarding to today, Marine Benefits has passed the test of the shipping crisis, a global pandemic and an industrial revolution. Despite all this, Marine Benefits is more robust than ever, operating out of Manila, Norway, Sweden and, most recently, Greece, servicing more than 234,000 people globally. To me, there is one reason for this success: the committed, dedicated employees in Marine Benefits. Yes, the owner is long-term, yes, capital was provided, but none of these, including offices, are unique differentiators. It is only the people who make the difference.
So, first and foremost, I would like to thank all the employees in Manila, Norway, Sweden and Athens for your continuous efforts to develop Marine Benefits, and the management for their capability to recalibrate the organisation and culture as we are growing and taking on new challenges coming our way.
I am certain that what lies ahead of us will be dealt with in the best possible manner, whether that is the challenges of AI, a multipolar world, or the opportunities presented by AI and a large order book ready to be manned by crew who will be well looked after by their managers and Marine Benefits employees.
We should be proud of the first 20 years in operation, and be excited about what is ahead of us, as we have the best crew onboard.
Bon Voyage!
Hans Christian
Chairman of the Board, Marine Benefits & CEO of Norwegian Hull Club