Do I need a separate policy for each project shipment, or can I use my existing open cover?

It depends on whether your open cover's automatic limits and commodity descriptions accommodate the shipment. Most open covers are written for standard commercial cargo and carry per-sending limits that a single project item will exceed. If your open cover has not been specifically endorsed to include out-of-gauge or heavy-lift cargo, you need a specific project policy. We will review your existing open cover wording and advise whether it can be extended or whether a standalone project policy is the right approach.

What happens if the vessel declares general average mid-voyage?

Your cargo will be held at the port of discharge until you post a general average bond and, usually, a cash deposit or guarantee. A cargo policy that includes general average cover and a letter of undertaking facility means your insurer provides the guarantee directly to the average adjuster, releasing your cargo without you having to fund the deposit yourself. Without this facility, you are funding the deposit out of your own cash flow while the adjustment — which can take months — is calculated under York-Antwerp Rules 2016.

My project contract requires 'all-risks' cover. Does Institute Cargo Clauses (A) satisfy that requirement?

Institute Cargo Clauses (A) is the standard all-risks wording for marine cargo and will satisfy most contractual requirements for all-risks cover. However, confirm that your policy also includes war and strikes cover, as these are excluded from the main ICC (A) wording and placed separately. Some project contracts specify that war cover must be in place for the full routing including any JCC-listed areas. Check the contract wording carefully and bring it to us so we can confirm the policy structure matches what your counterparty requires.

How long does it take to bind a project cargo policy?

A straightforward project cargo submission with complete information can be bound within two to three working days in the London company market. Complex moves — multi-modal routing through JCC-listed war zones, very high values, unusual cargo types — may require additional underwriter review. The binding timeline is driven almost entirely by the quality of the submission. Incomplete information causes delays. Send us your cargo details, routing, and sum insured as early as possible, and we will confirm the timeline once we have reviewed the submission.

What do you need from me to get a quote?

At minimum: a full cargo description including dimensions and weight, the complete routing with all legs and intermediate storage points, the sum insured and basis of valuation, and the intended sailing dates. Lashing and sea-fastening drawings, the project contract or bill of lading terms, and details of any on-deck stowage requirements will allow us to produce a more accurate and more comprehensive policy. The more detail you provide at the outset, the less room there is for coverage disputes if a claim arises.

Does my cargo policy cover storage at the fabrication yard or at an intermediate port?

Standard Institute Cargo Clauses cover attaches from the time the cargo leaves the warehouse or store at the place named in the policy and ceases on delivery to the final warehouse. Storage at a fabrication yard before loading, or at an intermediate port during a multi-modal move, may fall outside the standard attachment and termination provisions. This needs to be confirmed and, if necessary, endorsed into the policy at inception. Do not assume storage is covered — ask us to confirm it in writing before the cargo enters storage.

Cargo Insurance for UK Project Forwarding Contractors

Written by the London Marine Insurance editorial team · reviewed by Anton Kuznetsov, founder

Project forwarding is not standard freight. When your contract calls for out-of-gauge transformers, modular plant sections, or multi-modal moves combining road, sea, and inland waterway legs, a conventional open-cover policy almost certainly leaves gaps you will only discover at the claims stage. This page sets out what your cargo insurance needs to do, where standard wordings fall short, and what to bring to us so we can place the right cover in the London company market before your first shipment moves.

Why Standard Open Covers Fail Project Cargo

Most open covers are written on Institute Cargo Clauses (A), which provide all-risks cover — but 'all risks' is a term of art, not a promise. Inherent vice, inadequate packing, and delay are excluded regardless of the clause set you choose. For project cargo, the packing and lashing specification is itself a risk: a transformer improperly sea-fastened is an inherent-vice argument waiting to happen. Your policy needs to confirm that the underwriter has reviewed and accepted your lashing and blocking drawings, not simply received them.

Institute Cargo Clauses (B) and (C) are sometimes proposed on heavy or awkward lifts because underwriters price them lower. Clause (C) covers only fire, explosion, vessel stranding, grounding, sinking, capsizing, overturning of land conveyance, collision, and general average sacrifice. It does not cover washing overboard, entry of sea water, or hook damage during crane operations — all of which are live exposures on a project move. If a counterparty or lender is requiring 'all-risks cover' in the contract, Clauses (B) or (C) will not satisfy that requirement.

Open covers also carry automatic commodity and per-sending limits. A single project shipment — one reactor vessel, one offshore module — can exceed those limits by a factor of ten. Exceeding the automatic limit without a specific declaration does not void the policy automatically, but it does give underwriters grounds to reduce their liability to the declared limit. Confirm your per-sending limit before the cargo leaves the fabrication yard, not after it arrives at the port of loading.

The Cover Your Project Move Actually Requires

A properly structured project cargo policy is written on a specific-voyage or project basis rather than as a declaration against an open cover. It names the cargo, the route, the conveyances, and the handling operations. The Inchmaree clause — originally designed to cover latent defects in hull and machinery — is relevant here because it extends cover to loss caused by the negligence of masters, officers, crew, or stevedores. On a heavy-lift operation where stevedore error is a primary cause of loss, confirming that the Inchmaree extension is included in your wording is not optional.

Sue-and-labour provisions require you to take reasonable steps to prevent or minimise a loss, and in return the insurer contributes to the cost of those steps even if the cargo is ultimately saved. On a project move, sue-and-labour costs — emergency re-lashing at an intermediate port, specialist salvage equipment, re-routing to avoid a blocked waterway — can rival the cost of the physical damage itself. Your policy should confirm that sue-and-labour expenditure is covered in addition to, not within, the sum insured.

General average is the mechanism by which all cargo interests on a vessel contribute to a sacrifice or expenditure made for the common safety of the voyage. York-Antwerp Rules 2016 govern most modern general average adjustments. If your cargo is on a vessel that declares general average, you will be required to post a general average bond and, usually, a cash deposit or guarantee before your cargo is released. Without a cargo policy that includes general average cover and a letter of undertaking facility, your project shipment can be held at the discharge port for weeks while the adjustment is calculated.

Specific-voyage or project policy rather than open-cover declaration
All-risks basis (Institute Cargo Clauses A or equivalent project wording)
Inchmaree extension confirmed in the wording
Sue-and-labour costs in addition to the sum insured
General average and salvage charges cover with letter of undertaking facility
War and strikes cover (Institute War Clauses Cargo and Institute Strikes Clauses Cargo) placed separately or endorsed onto the main policy

Liability Exposure: Where Your Cargo Cover Ends and Freight Liability Begins

As a project forwarding contractor, you are likely operating under a combination of your own standard trading conditions and bespoke project contracts. UK freight forwarders typically trade on BIFA Standard Trading Conditions, which limit your liability per unit of goods. But if your client has required you to accept enhanced liability under a project contract, or if you have issued a through bill of lading, your exposure may exceed those limits significantly.

The Hague-Visby Rules apply to bills of lading issued in the UK for international carriage and cap the carrier's liability per package or per kilogramme, whichever is higher. The Hamburg Rules and Rotterdam Rules offer different liability regimes and are adopted by different flag states. If your project cargo moves on a vessel operating under a jurisdiction that has ratified the Hamburg Rules, the carrier's liability period and basis differ from what you may have assumed. Your freight liability policy needs to be drafted with the applicable carriage convention in mind, not written generically.

The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) sets a floor on how far a shipowner can limit their liability, expressed in Special Drawing Rights. For project cargo owners, this matters because if the vessel owner successfully limits their liability, the shortfall falls back on you or your cargo insurer. A well-structured project cargo policy addresses this by ensuring the sum insured reflects the full replacement or reinstatement value of the cargo, not the carrier's limited liability.

War, Sanctions, and Routing Risk on UK Project Moves

Project cargo moves are rarely point-to-point. A power plant component fabricated in the UK may transit Rotterdam, pass through the Suez Canal, and discharge at a port in the Middle East or South Asia. Each leg introduces a different risk profile. The Joint Cargo Committee listed areas — which include the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Arabian Gulf approaches — attract additional war risk premium and, in some cases, require specific underwriter approval before the voyage commences.

War and strikes cover under the Institute War Clauses (Cargo) and Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo) is placed separately from your main all-risks policy. It is not automatic. If your project move transits a JCC-listed area and you have not confirmed that war cover is bound and in force for that leg, your cargo is uninsured for the most likely cause of loss on that route. Confirm war cover is in place before the vessel enters the listed area, not when it is already in the Red Sea.

UK sanctions compliance is a condition of cover, not a courtesy. If your project cargo is destined for a sanctioned entity or transiting a sanctioned territory, your policy will not respond and you may face regulatory consequences independent of the insurance position. Bring your end-buyer and routing details to us at the outset so we can confirm insurability before you commit to the contract.

What to Bring When Requesting a Project Cargo Quote

Project cargo underwriters in the London company market price on information. The more complete your submission, the more accurately the policy can be structured and the less likely you are to face a coverage dispute at the claims stage. A thin submission — cargo description, port of loading, port of discharge, sum insured — will produce a generic policy with generic exclusions. A detailed submission produces a policy that reflects your actual operation.

We will ask the underwriter on your behalf to confirm: the basis of valuation (agreed value or invoice value plus freight and insurance); whether the lashing and sea-fastening specification has been reviewed and accepted; whether any on-deck stowage is covered; and whether the policy responds during storage at intermediate ports or fabrication yards. These are not standard inclusions. They need to be negotiated into the wording before the policy is bound.

Full cargo description including dimensions, weight, and commodity type
Complete routing: all legs, conveyances, and intermediate storage locations
Sum insured and basis of valuation
Lashing, blocking, and sea-fastening drawings or specification
Copy of the project contract or bill of lading terms if available
Details of any on-deck stowage requirements
Intended sailing dates and vessel names if known
Any sanctions or export licence considerations

Renewal and Mid-Term Adjustments on Project Policies

Unlike an annual open cover, a project cargo policy is typically written for the duration of the project — which may span multiple years and multiple shipments. At renewal or at each new shipment declaration, underwriters will review the claims record on the project, any changes to the routing or conveyances, and any updates to the cargo specification. If the project scope has changed materially — additional cargo items, revised routing, new sub-contractors — notify us before the next shipment moves, not at the end of the project.

Deductibles on project cargo policies are negotiated at inception. They typically widen if cargo is stored out of class, if conveyances are not pre-approved, or if the sea-fastening specification is not followed. If your project encounters delays and cargo is stored at an intermediate location for longer than the policy contemplates, contact us immediately. Extended storage is a material change in risk and needs to be endorsed onto the policy. Failure to notify can give underwriters grounds to reduce or decline a claim arising during the extended storage period.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate policy for each project shipment, or can I use my existing open cover?: It depends on whether your open cover's automatic limits and commodity descriptions accommodate the shipment. Most open covers are written for standard commercial cargo and carry per-sending limits that a single project item will exceed. If your open cover has not been specifically endorsed to include out-of-gauge or heavy-lift cargo, you need a specific project policy. We will review your existing open cover wording and advise whether it can be extended or whether a standalone project policy is the right approach.
What happens if the vessel declares general average mid-voyage?: Your cargo will be held at the port of discharge until you post a general average bond and, usually, a cash deposit or guarantee. A cargo policy that includes general average cover and a letter of undertaking facility means your insurer provides the guarantee directly to the average adjuster, releasing your cargo without you having to fund the deposit yourself. Without this facility, you are funding the deposit out of your own cash flow while the adjustment — which can take months — is calculated under York-Antwerp Rules 2016.
My project contract requires 'all-risks' cover. Does Institute Cargo Clauses (A) satisfy that requirement?: Institute Cargo Clauses (A) is the standard all-risks wording for marine cargo and will satisfy most contractual requirements for all-risks cover. However, confirm that your policy also includes war and strikes cover, as these are excluded from the main ICC (A) wording and placed separately. Some project contracts specify that war cover must be in place for the full routing including any JCC-listed areas. Check the contract wording carefully and bring it to us so we can confirm the policy structure matches what your counterparty requires.
How long does it take to bind a project cargo policy?: A straightforward project cargo submission with complete information can be bound within two to three working days in the London company market. Complex moves — multi-modal routing through JCC-listed war zones, very high values, unusual cargo types — may require additional underwriter review. The binding timeline is driven almost entirely by the quality of the submission. Incomplete information causes delays. Send us your cargo details, routing, and sum insured as early as possible, and we will confirm the timeline once we have reviewed the submission.
What do you need from me to get a quote?: At minimum: a full cargo description including dimensions and weight, the complete routing with all legs and intermediate storage points, the sum insured and basis of valuation, and the intended sailing dates. Lashing and sea-fastening drawings, the project contract or bill of lading terms, and details of any on-deck stowage requirements will allow us to produce a more accurate and more comprehensive policy. The more detail you provide at the outset, the less room there is for coverage disputes if a claim arises.
Does my cargo policy cover storage at the fabrication yard or at an intermediate port?: Standard Institute Cargo Clauses cover attaches from the time the cargo leaves the warehouse or store at the place named in the policy and ceases on delivery to the final warehouse. Storage at a fabrication yard before loading, or at an intermediate port during a multi-modal move, may fall outside the standard attachment and termination provisions. This needs to be confirmed and, if necessary, endorsed into the policy at inception. Do not assume storage is covered — ask us to confirm it in writing before the cargo enters storage.

If you are moving project cargo under a UK or EEA contract and need a policy that reflects the actual operation — not a generic open cover — send us your cargo details and routing. We will structure the submission, negotiate the wording with specialist underwriters in the London company market, and confirm cover before your first shipment moves.