Category: Marine · Reviewed by Taylor Watts, Broker · New Business · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
The Institute Cargo Clauses (A), reference CL.382 dated 1/1/2009, are the standard ‘all risks’ marine cargo insurance wording in the London market, providing cover for all loss of or damage to insured goods except as expressly excluded by clauses 4 to 7.
Category: Marine insurance Also known as: ICC (A), ICC A, CL.382, all risks ICC First codified: Institute Cargo Clauses (Sea) 1963; ICC (A) 1/1/82; current ICC (A) 1/1/2009 (CL.382) Related legislation: Marine Insurance Act 1906 [1]; Insurance Act 2015 [2]
The Institute Cargo Clauses (A) are the broadest of the three principal marine cargo wordings maintained by the Joint Cargo Committee for the London market. They provide all risks cover, responding to all physical loss of or damage to the insured goods except as expressly excluded. The current version, dated 1/1/2009 and assigned market reference CL.382, replaced the earlier ICC (A) 1/1/82 [3][4].
The clauses are short - 19 numbered clauses organised into six sections: risks covered (cl.1–3), exclusions (cl.4–7), duration (cl.8–10), claims (cl.11–14), benefit of insurance (cl.15–16), minimising losses (cl.17–18) and avoidance of delay and law and practice (cl.19). They are designed to be used with the MAR 91 schedule form, which contains the policy details, and are typically presented to the assured as a single document combining schedule and clauses [3].
ICC (A) is the default cover for general dry cargo and finished goods of all kinds. The 1/1/2009 revision introduced a number of improvements over the 1/1/82 wording, including: clearer drafting of the transit clause; an extended termination provision recognising forwarding to an alternative destination; an updated terrorism exclusion in cl.7; deletion of the older ‘unseaworthiness’ provision and its replacement with a more focused exclusion in cl.5; and clarification of the position on insolvency of the carrier in cl.4.6 [3][4].
The 1/1/2009 ICC (A) is published alongside parallel revisions of ICC (B) (CL.383) and ICC (C) (CL.384), and corresponding War (CL.385) and Strikes (CL.386) cargo clauses.
ICC (A) is governed by the Marine Insurance Act 1906 and modified for commercial contracts entered into after 12 August 2016 by the Insurance Act 2015. The clauses themselves provide in cl.19 that the insurance is subject to English law and practice, so English law governs even where the underlying transit is international [1][2][3].
Section 55 of the MIA 1906 sets the basic rule that insurers are liable for losses proximately caused by perils insured against and not liable for losses outside that scope. The all risks formulation in cl.1 of ICC (A) widens the scope to all losses other than those excluded. The classical statement in British and Foreign Marine v Gaunt [1921] 2 AC 41 remains good law: all risks covers losses by fortuitous external causes but not inevitable losses such as wear and tear, ordinary leakage and inherent vice [1].
The exclusions in cl.4–7 are critical to interpretation. Clause 4 contains the general exclusions, including: wilful misconduct of the assured (cl.4.1); ordinary leakage, ordinary loss in weight or volume, or ordinary wear and tear (cl.4.2); insufficiency or unsuitability of packing or preparation (cl.4.3); inherent vice or nature of the subject-matter insured (cl.4.4); loss damage or expense proximately caused by delay (cl.4.5); insolvency or financial default of carriers (cl.4.6, with the ‘insurance protection’ carve-out for assured without knowledge); unseaworthiness or unfitness of vessel, container or conveyance where the assured is privy to such unfitness (cl.4.4 / 5); and nuclear weapons risks (cl.4.7) [3][4].
Clause 6 excludes war risks (war, civil war, capture, seizure, derelict mines, torpedoes, bombs), and cl.7 excludes strikes risks (strikers, locked-out workmen, civil commotions, terrorism, persons acting from political, ideological or religious motives). These risks are restored by separate placement of Institute War Clauses Cargo and Institute Strikes Clauses Cargo [3][4].
ICC (A) is incorporated into a policy by reference, with the MAR 91 schedule setting out the assured, the goods, the conveyance, the insured value, the deductibles (if any), the additional clauses (notably War and Strikes) and any policy-specific endorsements. The policy is typically issued by a single carrier in the company market or by a Lloyd’s broker on a subscription slip with multiple syndicates and insurers each taking an agreed line [3][4].
For annual open covers, ICC (A) is the default wording on most placements covering finished goods, manufactured products, electronics, white goods, automotive parts, machinery and similar commodities. Bulk commodities, low-value cargo and some trades (notably grain and oilseeds) more commonly use ICC (B) or ICC (C).
The transit clause (cl.8) is critical for understanding the period of cover. It begins when the goods are first moved within the warehouse at the place named in the schedule for the commencement of transit, continues during the ordinary course of transit, and ends on completion of unloading at the final warehouse at destination, or on the expiry of 60 days after discharge from the overseas vessel at the discharge port, or on delivery to any other place used by the assured for storage outside the ordinary course of transit, whichever occurs first. The 1/1/2009 revision improved cover for forwarding to an alternative destination [3].
Claims handling involves notification to the insurer’s nearest correspondent (listed in the policy), appointment of a surveyor at destination, gathering of documents (commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, claim against carrier, survey report) and adjustment of the loss. The insurer is subrogated to the assured’s rights against the carrier under s.79 of the Act and pursues recovery subject to Hague-Visby package limits.
ICC (A) is rarely used unamended. Typical additions include: War and Strikes clauses; specific commodity clauses (Frozen Foods, Frozen Meat, Coal, Bulk Oil, Jute, Natural Rubber, Timber Trade Federation Clauses); refusal of import (RFI) clauses; brands and labels clauses (for damage to high-value branded goods requiring removal of branding before salvage sale); seller’s contingency clauses; difference in conditions and difference in limits clauses (for global manufacturers buying centrally to fill gaps in local placements); and reefer clauses for refrigerated cargo.
The 1/1/82 version of ICC (A) remains in occasional use in some markets and trades, particularly in the United States where the change to the 1/1/2009 version has been slower. Substantive cover is similar but several drafting improvements in the 2009 version (notably the carrier insolvency carve-out and the terrorism exclusion update) make the newer version the market preference [3][4].
In the US, parallel wordings include the American Institute Marine Cargo Clauses and bespoke wordings used by the major US marine carriers. International placements led from London typically use the Institute Clauses regardless of the routing.
A UK distributor of consumer electronics imports tablet computers from Vietnam under an annual open cover with ICC (A) (CL.382) plus War and Strikes clauses. An individual shipment of 5,000 units valued at £750,000 is loaded in a 20-foot container and shipped via Rotterdam to Felixstowe. During discharge at Rotterdam, the container is dropped from a height of approximately 3 metres, damaging the lower three layers of pallets. The damage is identified at the distributor’s UK warehouse on unstuffing. The distributor notifies the insurer’s UK claims agent, who appoints an independent surveyor. The surveyor confirms the damage pattern is consistent with a drop event, and the carrier’s incident report supports the same conclusion. The insurer pays an indemnified loss of £162,000 (representing the value of damaged units less salvage), and pursues subrogated recovery against the container terminal operator at Rotterdam under contractual liability provisions. The all risks basis of ICC (A) removes any argument over whether the cause of loss falls within a list of named perils.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
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