Insurance survey field guide
The words on the survey form are not interchangeable: the party who pays, the party who owns the goods and the party who fills in the paperwork are usually three different people. Get them right and the claim goes through.
Who is who
The parties named on every certificate.
- Policy holder
The person or company that contracts and pays for the policy. This may be the freight forwarder, the exporter, or another party designated by agreement.
- Insurance beneficiary
The party that holds the insurable interest in the cargo — typically the owner of the goods. This is who receives the payout if a loss or damage occurs.
- Insured
The individual submitting the application on behalf of the policy holder: a logistics coordinator or an insurance broker handling the paperwork.
- ISRCC
Covers losses arising from strikes, riots or civil commotions. Recommended when the goods travel through regions with potential for civil unrest. Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo), CL386.
- IWC
Covers war-related perils, including piracy and terrorist acts in high-risk zones. Consider adding it when the route passes through conflict areas. Institute War Clauses (Cargo), CL385. In the market the waters that carry a war rate are set by the Joint War Committee listed areas, not by the country.
- Extraordinary risks
Extends the cover to natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes), government seizure or nuclear incidents. Useful for high-value or sensitive cargo. A TTCircle teaching bundle. No Institute clause matches it.
- Reefer breakdown
Covers loss caused by the refrigerating machinery failing in transit. Nothing else reaches it: a breakdown is a failure of equipment rather than a fortuity of the voyage, so it falls outside ICC (A), (B) and (C) alike. Do not confuse it with cargo loaded warm, which is a pre-shipment condition no extension reaches. Simplified from Institute Frozen/Chilled Food Clauses (A) — 24 Hours Breakdown, CL423. The real clause responds only where the machinery has been out for not less than 24 consecutive hours; ours pays on any failure. In the market, chilled cargo is usually written on CL430 in place of ICC rather than on ICC plus an extension.
- TPND
Theft, pilferage and non-delivery. Buy it over ICC (B) or ICC (C) when the route has a leg where cargo sits or changes hands — a groupage warehouse, a road on-carriage. It is the cheap answer to a peril that otherwise forces you all the way up to ICC (A). A market extension, not an Institute clause with its own number. ICC (A), CL382, already reaches theft as an all-risks peril, so buying TPND on top of it pays for cover you have.
Before you submit
Four checks that prevent a denied claim.
Recommendations
- Verify the chosen Incoterm to understand the responsibilities and the point where risk transfers.
- Select the extensions (ISRCC, IWC, extraordinary risks, reefer breakdown, TPND) based on the nature of the cargo and the route — not only the destination. A peril usually enters on a specific leg.
- Read what the cover level does not reach before adding extensions. ICC (C) reaches neither theft nor water damage; ICC (B) reaches water damage but not theft.
- Complete every survey field accurately — gaps are the most common cause of a claim being denied or delayed.
- Consult a specialist for high-value shipments or complex trade routes.