The start of a new calendar year marks the time when the shipping companies submit information about hiring days to UFDS. This game of numbers is demanding, but valuable for everyone to ensure correct settlement.
What has the statutory occupational injury insurance for seafarers cost the individual shipping companies in the past year? And what should the shipping companies budget for the coming year?
Two simple questions that arise in continuation of a year-end but also questions that call for a larger puzzle to be solved – both historically and in the economic forecast.
Reporting of hiring days to the Danish Shipowners’ Accident Insurance Association is crucial for calculating the shipping companies' premium up to the collection – or repayment – in July, just as the reported hiring figures also form the basis for the invoices for the coming year.
As a mutual insurance company, UFDS are not required to generate returns for shareholders, but rather to send back any overpaid funds to its members. For example, if a shipping company has paid for 8,000 sailing days, but only sailed for 6,000, then the remaining 2,000 days will be returned, including both insurance tax, tariffs and other elements.
The deadline for the report is at the end of January, and at UFDS, it is the policy and claims handlers Tina Christensen and Kia Sandorf Pluszek who handle the collection and control of the large amount of data from shipping companies and other members.
The extensive data material places great importance on the collection and handling of all information, so that all information is registered correctly. UFDS prefers to receive these large amounts of data in Excel, which allows the numbers to be uploaded directly into the system, as Tina Christensen explains.
»In the past, we sent out a PDF file that the members filled out manually, but now we have prepared a calculation sheet in Excel that you can fill out digitally and send back in the same format. It's easier and safer for both us and the shipping companies, so we're happy about that,« she says.
Importance justifies time spent
Kia Sandorf Pluszek greatly appreciates helping members with the reports.
»We have an ongoing and really great dialogue with the shipping companies. In this phase, we mostly talk to those experiencing various kinds of challenges, but we approach the matter constructively with the knowledge that it can be complicated for some of the smaller organizations,« she says.
Part of the tasks is therefore to follow up and contact the shipping companies that may not submit information after the deadline.
»It’s an important priority for us to reach out to those who have not received the items or are in doubt about the statements, because we have great respect for the fact that it’s not easy to get this stuff in order. And we are here for the sake of the members,« Kia Sandorf Pluszek emphasizes.
With all the reports in place, Kia and Tina Christensen can make a large, comprehensive report and review the material to ensure that the statements are correct in relation to, for example, the shipping companies that have to pay war reparations, that the number of international voyages matches the information, and that discounts are deducted from the environmental contribution.
»We are always happy to cross the finish line, but at the same time it is also a good process. Actually, it is a bit of an 'annual review', where we and the members get to sweep the corners, set up new ships and delete the old ones that are no longer active. Plus, we get to talk to a lot of of the members – we really like that,« Tina Christensen says.
