DEEP dish pizzas, Al Capone, the greatest blues tunes ever committed to vinyl and two major league baseball teams; Chicago is already famous for many things.

And last week, the Windy City topped even those achievements by playing host to the International Union of Marine Insurance, which was able to hold its annual conference in person for the first time since the pandemic.

The good news for those assembled is that the sector looks to be in reasonable shape. Aggregate global marine insurance premiums hit $33bn last year, up 6.4% on 2020, according to the event’s always eagerly awaited facts and figures presentation.

Premiums for hull, cargo, offshore energy and marine liability were all up, with Asia and continental Europe in particular doing well, as Lloyd’s of London continued to lose ground.

But I guess it’s in the nature of insurers to point out the worst that might happen, and other sessions focused on the continuing uncertainties that face their clients in the shipping industry.

Top of the list of potential woes is the conflict in Ukraine, of course, where payouts have been limited so far, but can reasonably be expected to rise once the final bills are in.

The fighting has sent global energy markets through the roof, which is feeding the inflation that was already becoming apparent in the wider economy.

Meanwhile, latest estimates suggest that growth in world trade is already slowing. The pandemic isn’t over, and climate change is causing the kind of natural catastrophes that can be a nightmare for insurers across all classes.

Covering the event for Lloyd’s List was our law and insurance editor David Osler, who gauged the feeling of attendees and buttonholed the movers and shakers for insights and interviews. In front of his microphone this week are:

• Rama Chandan of QBE Singapore, outgoing chair of IUMI’s ocean hull committee;

• International Group of P&I Clubs chief executive Nick Shaw;

• Richard Neylon, a partner with law firm HFW;

• IUMI president, war risk underwriter Frédéric Denèfle

• Richard Turner, International Head of Marine at Victor Insurance, former president of the International Union of Marine Insurance