Simply a reward; but in commerce it implies the sum of money paid to the underwriters on ship or cargo, or parts thereof, as the price of the insurance risk.
·noun A sum of money paid to underwriters for insurance, or for undertaking to indemnify for losses ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
A high rate of interest charged on the safety of the ship the lender losing his whole money if she b...
The Sailor's Word-Book