A ship may be insured ‘at and from’ a particular place; this is envisaged in two circumstances namely:
- Where a ship is insured “at and from” a particular place, and she is at that place in good safety when the contract is concluded, the risk attaches immediately, and
- If she be not at that place when the contract is concluded, the risk attaches as soon as she arrives there in good safety, and, unless the policy otherwise provides, it is immaterial that she is covered by another policy for a specified time after arrival.
In both cases, the crucial moment for determination is ‘when the contract is concluded. A contract is ‘deemed to be concluded when the proposal of the assured is accepted by the insurer, whether the policy be then issued or not.
There is a, however, a third situation which is that of a ship which has already sailed from the named port at the time when the contract is concluded.
Ship already at named port
The first instance covers the circumstance when the ship is already at the named port, the terminus a quo, at the time when the contract is concluded. If the word ‘at’ is given a literal interpretation, the risk would attach as soon as the ship arrives at the named port.
But a ship well may be ‘at’ a particular place for a purpose other than for the insured voyage. If, for example, she is at the named port for another voyage or for a purpose (for example, repairs) which is unrelated to the insured voyage, it would be difficult to argue that the policy attaches the moment she arrived at that port.
If the ship is, at the time when the contract is concluded, at the named port for the purpose of sailing on another voyage, the risk does not attach.
Ship not at the named port
The standard words ‘at and from’ a particular place do not constitute a warranty or a representation that the ship is actually at the named port when the contract was concluded. Naturally, the policy cannot attach until she arrives there (named port) in good safety.
Ship already sailed from named port
This is the case when the ship had already sailed on the insured voyage at the time when the contract was concluded. If it could be proved that the intention of the parties was to insure her for the voyage on which the ship had already set sail, there is no reason why the policy should not be allowed to attach retrospectively. But whether she would also have to comply with the ‘good safety’ requirement before she sailed on that voyage is another question which the court could one day be called upon to answer.
Meaning of ‘good safety’
For an ‘at and from’ policy to attach, the ship must not only be ‘at’ the named port, but must also be there in a state of ‘good safety’. This requirement has to be satisfied whether she is already at the named port when the contract is concluded, or arrives there after the contract has been concluded.
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