In marine insurance, the institutions which exist for the purpose of furthering and protecting the interests of underwriters play a very prominent part. In Great Britain the oldest of these institutions is the Liverpool Underwriters Associa tion, founded in 1802, but the leading body is the Institute of London Underwriters, founded in 1884, and composed of the majority of the companies transacting marine business in London, including the London branches of companies in Liverpool and other provincial cities. This body formulates and issues the clauses to which reference has already been made, and a special feature of its work in this connection is the drafting of special sets of clauses for the insurance of trades. These clauses are drafted after consultation with the Trade Associations interested in the commodities to be insured, and are therefore acceptable to both parties to the contract of insurance. Examples of these clauses are the "London Jute Associations Clauses" and the "London Corn Trade Associations Clauses." The institute has established various sub-committees, of which the most important is the "Technical and Clauses Committee," the title of which ex plains its functions, and which keeps in close touch with various trade associations with a view to maintaining clauses in accord ance with the requirements of the trades those associations rep resent. An important committee which sits under the auspices of the institute, is the "Joint Hull Committee," on which Lloyd's Underwriters and the Liverpool market are represented, and which deals with such matters as the framing of agreements with regard to hull rates and values, the drafting of "warranties," governing voyages and seasons, and similar matters.
Lloyd's Underwriters Association is another important market institution, to which practically all the active underwriting mem bers of Lloyd's belong, and which works in close collaboration with the Institute of London Underwriters on matters of prin ciple, and sometimes on matters of practice. Lloyd's Brokers
Association is a body representative of the brokerage side of the business at Lloyd's while the Corporation of Insurance Brokers represents brokers in all parts of Great Britain. The Chartered Insurance Institute, largely educational in function, holds exam inations in marine insurance, and there are local institutes in connection with the Chartered Institute.
Elsewhere there are, in most markets, local or national institutions concerned with the regulation and government of business, such as the Central Underwriters Association of Norway, the Association for the Im provement of Marine Insurance in Holland, the "Verband" or Union of Underwriters in Germany, and the "Union des Syndi cats" in Paris. These are similar, in many respects to the Insti tute of London Underwriters, and are in constant communica tion with that body and each other. There is also the "Inter national Marine Insurance Union" with headquarters in Berlin, in which the majority of national markets are represented by the leading companies. This institution holds an annual conference at which matters of common interest are discussed, and has been the means of promoting a number of international agreements, the principal of which is the "dangerous drugs" agreement, by which underwriters are pledged to incorporate in all policies on drugs a clause making it imperative that all claims shall be ac companied by a certificate from the government of the country of origin authorizing the shipment in respect of which the claim is made. This agreement made in the first place at the instance of the British Foreign Office, has proved effective in checking the trade in opium, cocaine, and other drugs scheduled in the Inter national Opium Convention.