Definition of "Abandonment clause"

In marine insurance, clause giving an insured the right to abandon lost or damaged property and still claim full settlement from an insurer (subject to certain restrictions). Two types of losses are provided for under abandonment clauses:

  1. Actual total lossproperty so badly damaged it is unrepairable or unrecoverable; causes include fire, sinking, windstorm damage, and mysterious disappearance. For example, until the 1980s the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland in 1912, was deemed to be unrecoverable and the Commercial Union Insurance Company had paid its owners for their loss due to sinking. Owners of ships that mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle have been able to collect insurance proceeds. Disappearance of pleasure craft due to drug pirates has resulted in indemnification of owners through insurance proceeds.
  2. Constructive total lossproperty so badly damaged that the cost of its rehabilitation would be more than its restored value. For example, a ship and/or its cargo is damaged to such a degree that the cost of repair would exceed its restored value. The insured can abandon the property if (a) repair costs are greater than 50% of the value of the property after it has been repaired and (b) the insurance company agrees to the insured's intent to abandon.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Physical contact of an automobile with another inanimate object resulting in damage to the insured car. Insurance coverage is available to provide protection against this occurrence. ...

Associated insurers that are under common stock ownership or interlocking directorates. Such an arrangement makes it easier to exchange insurance products for sale to the consumer, reduces ...

Termination of premium payments by an employer on behalf of an employee to an employee benefit plan. ...

Insurance on the life of the employee, paid for by the company, with the company being the beneficiary under the policy. This insurance vehicle is being used more and more to fund ...

Cost of an annuity. Annuities are often paid for in a lump sum rather than annual or other periodic payments. This sum, which guarantees an income, usually for life, is called the purchase ...

Value of a share of common stock, derived by dividing the total common stockholders' equity at the end of a period of time by the total number of shares outstanding at the end of the same ...

Trust that qualifies assets under the marital deduction provision in the Federal Tax Code for favorable treatment of an estate. The surviving spouse has the full power to use the assets of ...

Relinquishment of rights to benefits when an employee withdraws previous contributions to a plan. An employee who had not withdrawn these contributions would have been entitled to full ...

Clause in an insurance policy stipulating that the benefits under the policy will accrue to the right of the insured. For example, if the insured leaves a violin at a repair shop and that ...

Popular Insurance Questions