Category: Marine cargo insurance · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Category: Marine cargo insurance Also known as: ICC (C), Institute C clauses, cargo clauses C Related concepts: ICC A, B and C compared, Institute Cargo Clauses (B)
The Institute Cargo Clauses (C) are the third and narrowest of the standard graded sets of marine cargo conditions. Like the B clauses they are a named-perils wording — the insured must prove the loss was caused by a peril on the list — but the list itself is confined to major casualties affecting the venture as a whole rather than the fortunes of an individual consignment.
At category level, the C perils are: fire and explosion; the vessel or craft being stranded, grounded, sunk or capsized; overturning or derailment of a land conveyance; collision or contact of the vessel with an external object; discharge of cargo at a port of distress; general average sacrifice; and jettison. The clauses also respond, as all three Institute sets do, to the cargo owner’s liability for general average and salvage contributions incurred to avoid an insured loss.
Everything outside that short list is uninsured. In contrast to the B clauses there is no cover for water entering the vessel or container, for cargo washed overboard, for packages lost during loading or discharge, or for natural events such as earthquake and lightning; in contrast to the A clauses there is no cover for theft, non-delivery, handling damage or other accidental transit losses. The standard exclusions — wilful misconduct, ordinary leakage, insufficient packing, inherent vice, delay, war and strikes — apply as in the other sets.
C terms suit cargo for which the realistic insured scenario is a major casualty rather than incremental transit damage: robust bulk commodities such as ores or scrap, goods of low value relative to freight, or cargo that is effectively loss-proof short of the ship itself being in casualty. The C clauses are also the conventional reference point for contractual minimum insurance obligations — sales terms and trade contracts that oblige a party to insure will often specify cover no less than Institute Cargo Clauses (C), leaving the parties free to buy wider terms if they wish.
Cover on C terms is inexpensive because it responds rarely. A buyer who accepts C terms because a contract requires nothing more should understand that the ordinary run of cargo claims — wetting, theft, rough handling, container damage — will fall on them uninsured. Whether that is an acceptable retained risk or a false economy depends on the cargo; the trade-offs across the three sets are set out in the comparison entry.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-21. Next review: 2027-02-21.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
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