Lower benefit payments are ultimately what motivate the insurers.The federal government expected a large decline in claims, therefore the marine industry paid claims at outrageous rates for many years. Though the terms of its exchange may be viewed as a form of corporate welfare, these agreements give transportation businesses a consistent flow of private insurance payments. These days, insurance underwriters in the US, Canada, and Australia submit bids at the shipping rates set by the federal government. For years, if not decades, a large number of ships owned by shipping companies were covered by government insurance programs; in certain cases, the cost of the insurance was deducted from shipping profits.