War P&I Evidence Checklist for Cargo Underwriters

Purpose

Reusable checklist for cargo / stock-throughput / project cargo underwriters when a voyage has Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Persian-Arabian Gulf or similar war-risk corridor exposure.

Core principle: cargo War/Strikes cover does not eliminate the need to understand vessel-side War P&I arrangements. A casualty can generate GA/salvage/security, pollution, wreck, crew, delay, port closure and sanctions-performance problems that affect cargo claim outcome and insurer exposure.

1. Facts to collect

• Vessel name and IMO; prior names if recently renamed.
• Flag, class, owner, manager, operator, charterer, P&I Club.
• Load, discharge, transshipment, bunkering and waiting/anchorage locations.
• Expected route and whether it enters listed/watched waters or recent incident zones.
• Cargo description, value, packing, sensitivity to delay/deterioration, contractual deadline.
• Requested cover: ICC(A/B/C), War, Strikes, SRCC, delay, forwarding, duty/tax, rejection, storage, inland transit.
• Policy wording: war/strikes clauses, sanctions clause, trading warranty, held-covered, cancellation, deviation, delay/loss of market exclusions.
• Evidence of vessel primary War H&M and primary War P&I where material.
• Any Club/excess War P&I information relevant to the vessel, noting that excess may not drop down if primary cover is missing — exact wording 검증 필요.
• Sanctions screening for insured, cargo, vessel, owner/manager/operator/charterer, banks, ports, origin/destination/end-use and claim-payment counterparties.
• Portfolio accumulation by vessel IMO, convoy, port, chokepoint, insured group and treaty/fac limit.

2. Referral triggers

Refer to senior underwriter / war-risk authority / compliance as applicable if any apply:

• Route includes Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Persian-Arabian Gulf, Northern Arabian Sea, Somalia/Yemen approaches, or other active listed/watched area.
• Vessel War P&I evidence is absent, ambiguous, expired, or inconsistent with planned route.
• Carrying vessel or related parties have Israeli, US/UK, Iranian, Russian, Yemeni/Houthi-designated, sanctioned or sanctions-sensitive nexus requiring enhanced review.
• Vessel has AIS gaps, suspicious STS activity, recent ownership/flag/class change, or dark-fleet indicators.
• Cargo is high-value, delay-sensitive, project-critical, dangerous, oil/petrochemical, dual-use, military-adjacent or otherwise politically sensitive.
• War/Strikes/SRCC cover is requested after route deterioration or after voyage has already entered high-risk waters.
• Non-standard wording attempts to cover delay, confiscation, government restraint, port closure, loss of market or sanctions consequences.
• Reinsurance treaty/fac approval is needed because event accumulation or war-risk corridor exposure exceeds authority.

3. Judgment framework

Facts

Record verified source facts only: vessel IMO, route, dates, cargo, cover requested, wording version, War P&I evidence, sanctions result, source advisory date.

Inference

Explain why the fact pattern changes severity or coverage uncertainty: e.g., missing primary War P&I may impair casualty response; Israeli-linked vessel may face different threat profile; Hormuz projectile risk may affect GA/salvage and delay.

Assumptions

List assumptions explicitly: no deviation, no transshipment, AIS remains active, no sanctioned ownership/control, current advisories remain valid until entry, AP is quoted before material deterioration.

Recommendation

Choose one:

• Accept as standard — no high-risk corridor or War/Strikes exposure confirmed.
• Accept with war-risk AP, route conditions and evidence requirements.
• Hold pending vessel War P&I / sanctions / route / wording / reinsurance information.
• Decline due to sanctions, legal uncertainty, unacceptable war-risk exposure or accumulation.

4. Suggested conditions / information requests

• Prior declaration and approval before entering listed/watched area.
• Current vessel route plan, ETA/ETD and security assessment.
• Evidence of primary War H&M and War P&I for the carrying vessel where material.
• Confirmation of P&I Club, war-risk underwriter and any voyage restrictions.
• No deviation, transshipment, substitution of vessel, STS transfer or port change without prior agreement.
• AIS to remain active except for documented safety reasons.
• Sanctions clearance for all relevant parties, ports, cargo and payment/claim/security counterparties.
• War-risk AP valid only subject to no material change before entry.
• Explicit delay/loss of market/port closure treatment consistent with appetite.
• Reinsurance/accumulation clearance before binding high-value risks.

5. Claims and exposure notes

• Separate physical cover analysis from legality/performance analysis.
• Preserve AIS, voyage orders, master reports, UKMTO/naval advisories, B/L, charterparty instructions, deviation logs, security reports and casualty communications.
• Determine proximate cause: war/hostile act, piracy/armed robbery, terrorism, strikes/SRCC, marine peril, government restraint, sanctions or delay.
• Screen before GA guarantee, salvage security, claim payment, recovery action or return premium.
• Check whether vessel-side War P&I gap increases unrecovered expenses, cargo release delay or security burden.
• Confirm reinsurance notice, aggregation and recoverability promptly.

6. AI/DX implementation hooks

• Versioned geofence for listed/watched waters and recent incident clusters.
• Vessel identity resolver using IMO, prior names, owner/manager/operator, P&I Club and AIS history.
• Document extraction for War/Strikes, sanctions, delay, held-covered, cancellation and trading-limit clauses.
• Evidence completeness score: route, vessel, War P&I, sanctions, wording, accumulation, reinsurance.
• Decision memo generator separating facts, inference, assumptions, recommendation and 검증 필요 items.
• Human approval gate for bind/decline/claim-security decisions.

Related

• [[2026-06-10 — War P&I excess cover does not replace primary War P&I in Middle East war-risk transits]]
• [[JWC Listed Area Underwriting Checklist]]
• [[Marine Cargo Sanctions Screening Checklist]]