To provide its Members with quick and expert advice anywhere in the world Britannia utilises the services of over 440 correspondents. These correspondents are located in all major ports world-wide and full contact details of each are provided in the P&l Rule Books circulated annually to all Members. The same P&l Rule Book also contains out of office contact details of key staff in Tindall Riley (Britannia) Limited who are available to assist Members any time of the day or night. All this information is also available, and regularly updated, on the Britannia website www.britanniapandi.com In normal circumstances where a problem occurs on a Member's ship the Master should make contact directly with Britannia's local port correspondent who has good local knowledge and the contacts necessary to provide an immediate response. The correspondent will make contact with the Managers' staff in London as soon as possible to progress matters to a speedy, satisfactory conclusion. What authority does the correspondent have? All Britannia's correspondents have authority to take all reasonable steps necessary to address the problem facing the Member. With their local knowledge and contacts in the area they are best placed, for example, to appoint a cargo surveyor at short notice. They will seek contact with the Club Managers at the earliest opportunity to advise them of the problem facing the Member and seek instructions on actions necessary to address the matter. From this moment the problem will be under the control of the Managers in London, with the local correspondents acting 'on the spot'. Can the correspondent settle claims on behalf of a Member? Britannia correspondents do not have authority to settle claims. Britannia's policy is to maximise the use of local correspondents to make arrangements and liaise 'on the spot', with the Managers in London retaining authority for claim settlement. In this way Britannia claims handlers can use their experience and knowledge of the Members' business to good effect and will ensure a more consistent approach to claim settlement across the whole membership of the Association; this is an important element in ensuring equity between all Members. Why hasn't Britannia established branch offices to deal with Members locally? An important element in the successful operation of a mutual P&I Club is the confidence Members have that the claims of all Members will be dealt with in the same way. The delegation of authority to branch offices for claim settlement and also perhaps underwriting of local Members could easily lead to a divergence of treatment of Members' claims and call rates. Britannia's strongly held view is to maintain control of underwriting and claims handling in one central location, at the same time providing first class service locally through the correspondent network. Why employ exclusive correspondents? Exclusive correspondents are those who work only for Britannia. Over the years Britannia has established a network of exclusive correspondents in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Spain. All the companies operate under their own name and employ local staff. They are located in those areas where Britannia has a significant number of Members and where the workload will justify their 'exclusive' work for Britannia. The Managers and these exclusive correspondents enjoy particularly close working relationships.

Correspondents