ABSTRACT
The operative word here is ‘indemnify’. A contract of marine insurance is essentially a contract of indemnity. This is the cardinal principle upon which the whole contract is founded, and from which the rules relating to the right of claim under a policy emanate. The rights and liabilities of the parties are dictated by this basic concept, and the amount recoverable by the assured, which is measured by the extent of his pecuniary loss, is also governed by it. This should not come as a surprise, for the very purpose of effecting a policy of insurance, marine or non-marine, is for indemnity for loss.
