War-Risk Broker Checklist
15 questions · take these into the call
This is not a quote engine, deliberately. War risk is priced per voyage, per hull, and moves with underwriter appetite — any premium generated here would be fiction, and a fictional premium is worse than none. What follows is what to ask your broker so the real number arrives with no surprises attached.
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Cover structure
Establish what you actually hold before negotiating anything.
Is my war-risk cover written per voyage, or annual with held-covered terms?
Annual policies with held-covered wording usually require you to declare a breach-of-warranty transit in advance and pay an additional premium. Missing the declaration can void the cover entirely.
Which policies respond here — hull & machinery, cargo, P&I, loss of hire, crew?
These are separate contracts with separate war exclusions. Cargo interests and shipowners often assume the other party is covered.
Is the Strait of Hormuz currently inside the Listed Areas / Joint War Committee zone on my policy?
JWC listing is what triggers additional premium and notification obligations. Listings are revised without warning.
Cancellation & notice
The clause that catches people out in a fast-moving corridor.
What is the cancellation notice period on my war-risk cover, and is it 7 days or 48 hours for this area?
War-risk underwriters can cancel cover at short notice. Standard is often 7 days but is frequently reduced in an escalating area — sometimes to 48 hours or automatic termination on certain triggers.
What events cause automatic termination rather than notice-based cancellation?
Outbreak of war between certain named states, or a hostile detonation, can terminate cover instantly with no notice at all.
If cover is cancelled while my vessel is mid-transit, what happens?
You need to know whether you are covered to complete the passage or whether you are suddenly uninsured in the highest-risk stretch.
Premium basis
So you can sanity-check the number when it arrives.
Is the additional premium quoted as a percentage of hull value, of cargo value, or a flat per-transit figure?
A percentage of hull value on a high-value vessel produces a very different number than a flat rate. You cannot compare quotes until you normalise the basis.
How long is the quote held open, and does it re-rate if the risk picture changes before we sail?
Quotes in an active corridor can expire in hours, and a re-rate on the day of transit destroys your voyage economics.
Are there rebates for reduced port stay, convoy participation, or specified routing?
Underwriters frequently discount for risk-mitigating behaviour. Nobody offers this unprompted.
Warranties & conditions
Breach these and you may have no cover at all.
What trading warranties or route restrictions apply, and do I need prior approval to deviate?
Rerouting to avoid a chokepoint can itself breach a trading warranty if the alternative is also a listed area.
What are my notification obligations, and to whom, before entering the area?
Late notification is one of the most common reasons a war-risk claim is disputed.
What security measures are conditions precedent — watchkeeping, reporting, AIS status, hardening?
If AIS silence is required (or prohibited) and you do the opposite, cover can be prejudiced.
Claims & contract exposure
Where the money actually gets argued about afterwards.
Who is the claims lead, and what is the notification route out of hours?
Incidents in this corridor do not respect office hours. Know the number before you need it.
How do delay, detention, and blocking & trapping cover interact with my charter party?
A vessel trapped beyond the strait generates laytime and off-hire disputes that ordinary hull cover does not answer.
Does my cover respond if the loss arises from a diversion rather than a direct attack?
Most crisis losses are commercial — delay, demurrage, missed connections — not physical damage. These are often excluded.
General guidance on what to ask — not insurance advice, and not a substitute for your broker or legal counsel. Policy wordings vary materially between underwriters.