Red Sea Insurance Premium Spikes as Houthi Risks Return

The cost of insuring commercial ships that sail past Yemen’s Houthi militants surged after the rebels sank two ships and killed sailors this week, underscoring how the attacks have revived risk in the crucial waterway.

Shipowners now have to pay about 1% of a ship’s value if they want to pass through the Red Sea, said Marcus Baker, global head of marine cargo and logistics at Marsh McLennan, the world’s largest insurance broker. That’s up from 0.2% to 0.3% in recent months, a period when there had been a lull in attacks.

The rapidly rising war-risk rates, which had ...