Category: Marine cargo insurance · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Category: Marine cargo insurance Also known as: strikes clauses, SRCC cargo cover, strikes riots and civil commotions clauses Related concepts: Institute Cargo Clauses (B), ICC A, B and C compared
The Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo) are a standard companion wording in the family of Institute clauses used for marine cargo. Every one of the three main sets of Institute Cargo Clauses — A, B and C alike — contains a strikes exclusion removing cover for loss or damage caused by strikers, locked-out workmen or persons taking part in labour disturbances, riots or civil commotions, and by terrorism or persons acting from a political motive. The Strikes Clauses restore that cover as a separate, parallel insurance attached alongside the main clauses.
At category level, the Strikes Clauses cover physical loss of or damage to the insured cargo caused by strikers, locked-out workmen or persons taking part in labour disturbances, riots or civil commotions, and by any terrorist or person acting from a political, ideological or religious motive. They follow the same framework as the main cargo clauses — the same style of transit provisions, general exclusions and claims conditions — so the two wordings run together as one coherent cover.
The cover is for physical loss or damage caused by the listed perils. It does not extend to the commercial consequences of a strike as such: loss caused by the absence, shortage or withholding of labour, losses arising from delay, and loss of market remain excluded. Cargo stuck in a port because dockers are on strike is not, without more, a Strikes Clauses claim; cargo damaged by rioters in that port is. War perils are a separate matter dealt with by their own family of clauses and are not restored by the Strikes Clauses.
In practice, cargo is rarely insured on the main clauses alone. A typical placement attaches the main cargo clauses in the chosen grade — see ICC A, B and C compared — together with the strikes and war families of clauses, so that the certificate presents a single package. Open covers for regular shippers are normally arranged this way as standard. The strikes cover is usually terminable by the insurer at short notice, reflecting how quickly the underlying risk can change in a particular country or trade.
Riot, civil commotion and terrorism losses to cargo are precisely the kind of event a cargo owner assumes is covered until the exclusion in the main clauses is pointed out. Because the buy-back is cheap, standard and near-universal, its absence from a placement is usually an oversight rather than a decision — and one that only surfaces after a loss. Checking that the strikes clauses sit alongside the main cargo wording is a basic point of broking hygiene.
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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