Insurance big brother is watching

And it’s no different for the insurance sector. “We often look at Google Maps and it is remarkable what you can see,” says David Lumby, the TT Club’s deputy director of underwriting.

“We have counted forklifts and we have been able to see whether the place is well-ordered or a complete shambles – yes, it is slightly Big Brother.”

Even YouTube can uncover some surprising ‘evidence’, albeit somewhat randomly.

“YouTube might have mobile phone-captured images of an incident. Or the port’s own CCTV, if it’s focused on the berth at the time a crane accident actually takes place, can show what happened.”

CCTV is becoming increasingly widely used in the ports sector and in security terms has particular relevance in the gate area, for example – recording video or still photographs of vehicles coming in and out, taking pictures of the drivers, the vehicle registration number and the physical condition of the boxes – all of which can be important in the case of a damage or theft claim.

“On the claims side, certainly CCTV can be of value,” says risk management director Peregrine Storrs-Fox. “We get involved in giving some low-level advice on what procedures ports or terminals should have in place for viewing, reviewing and storing CCTV images. Our advice would be around processes to make sure that CCTV is properly monitored in a rigorous way so you do know what is going on.”

In terms of premium-setting, he says, sometimes CCTV provides images that can tell you something isn’t right – or actually that it all looks really good.

RSA’s Rob Cook says the port sector has seen an increasing use of new technologies and security devices over the past decade, with new legislation and regulations – such as the ISPS Code – playing an important role.

“Rather than single out one specific technology or device, we will consider a port’s overall approach to risk awareness and risk management whereby not only CCTV, but a whole range of security and safety measures such as access and exit controls, fencing, intruder protection systems, smoke and fire detection, traffic management systems, etc., will play a role,” he says.