Marine insurance is seen as a highly technical and legally complex area, but its application in the marketplace can have a big influence on Australia's economy and balance of trade.
Australian insurers cover ships and cargo from all over the world.
He said that the ALRC recommended repealing archaic sections of the Marine Insurance Act , which had their origin in the 17th century. The reason for keeping such terminology is to retain more than a century of judicial decisions that interpret these phrases rather than open up new litigation, even if the descriptions now seem somewhat quaint, Mr Davis said.