Is insufficient packing really excluded from all-risks cover?

Yes. Exclusion 4.3 applies at every Institute Cargo Clauses level, including (A). The test is whether the packing or preparation was sufficient to withstand the ordinary incidents of the transit that was actually undertaken.

What if a professional packer did the work?

The exclusion applies where the packing was carried out by the insured or their employees, or before the cover attached — and the clauses expressly state that "employees" does not include independent contractors. Where a third-party packer did it, the exclusion does not bite in the same way.

What standard will a surveyor measure my stow against?

The IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units — the CTU Code, 2014 edition. It is non-mandatory guidance, jointly developed by the three organisations, and it is the reference a survey report will cite.

Packing: the exclusion that survives all-risks cover

Exclusion 4.3 applies at every clause level, and the clauses say in terms that stowage inside a container counts as packing. That makes how you load the unit part of the insurance contract, not just part of the logistics.

Exclusion 4.3CTU Code 2014Photograph before the doors close

What the clause actually says

The insurance does not cover loss, damage or expense caused by insufficiency or unsuitability of packing or preparation of the goods to withstand the ordinary incidents of the insured transit, where that packing or preparation was carried out by the insured or their employees, or before the cover attached. For this purpose "packing" is deemed to include stowage in a container, and "employees" does not include independent contractors.

Two things follow. The test is the transit that was booked, not whether the goods were sound on dispatch. And the carve-out for independent contractors is real: who did the work changes the answer.

All the exclusions, clause by clause →

The CTU Code

The IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units, 2014 edition, developed jointly by the International Maritime Organization, the International Labour Organization and the UN Economic Commission for Europe. It replaced the 1997 guidelines of the same three bodies and covers selecting and inspecting the unit, weight distribution, securing and restraint, condensation, and the responsibilities of the packer.

It is non-mandatory guidance rather than a regulation — and it is the standard a survey report will compare your stow against when insufficient packing is raised.

Six failures that read as packing, not as peril

What was done	How it ends up in a survey report
Void space not filled	Cargo moves in transit. Crushing and abrasion damage that looks like handling damage and is read as a packing failure.
Weight concentrated at one end	Axle and floor loading problems, and a stow that shifts when the unit is lifted or turned.
No dunnage under hygroscopic cargo	Container sweat condenses on the roof, drips, and soaks the top of the stack. Very common on long transits from humid origins.
Export packing used for domestic cartons	Cartons specified for a pallet in a warehouse fail under the ordinary incidents of a multi-leg international transit.
Lashings to the wrong points	Securing that gives way under normal accelerations, which the clauses treat as insufficiency of preparation rather than as a peril.
Unit not inspected before packing	A leaking roof, a broken floor or a previous cargo residue becomes your contamination claim.

Six photographs, taken every time

This is the cheapest claims evidence there is, and it is the only evidence that can no longer be created once the doors are closed.

1. The goods unpacked, before anything is boxed, showing condition and serial or batch marks.
2. Each package closed and marked, showing the marks and numbers that appear on the transport document.
3. The stow inside the unit as it builds, including dunnage, lashings and void fill.
4. The container or trailer number and the seal number, legible, before the doors close.
5. The doors closed and sealed.
6. A dated packing list matching what the photographs show.

Keep them with the shipment record, not on somebody's phone. If you hold an account here, the document register on the shipment is the right place.

Common questions

Is insufficient packing really excluded from all-risks cover?: Yes. Exclusion 4.3 applies at every Institute Cargo Clauses level, including (A). The test is whether the packing or preparation was sufficient to withstand the ordinary incidents of the transit that was actually undertaken.
Does stuffing a container count as packing?: Yes, expressly. The clauses state that for the purpose of the exclusion, "packing" is deemed to include stowage in a container. A badly secured load is therefore a packing failure, not a transit peril.
What if a professional packer did the work?: The exclusion applies where the packing was carried out by the insured or their employees, or before the cover attached — and the clauses expressly state that "employees" does not include independent contractors. Where a third-party packer did it, the exclusion does not bite in the same way.
What standard will a surveyor measure my stow against?: The IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units — the CTU Code, 2014 edition. It is non-mandatory guidance, jointly developed by the three organisations, and it is the reference a survey report will cite.

Sources

This page summarises the instruments above. It is not the wording, and it is not legal advice. Where a summary conflicts with a convention text, a policy wording or a certificate, that document governs.

InsuranceScanner is an insurance intermediary, not an insurer — see the Terms for our role. Nothing here is a personal recommendation that a particular cover, sum insured or deductible is suitable for you. Where anything on this page conflicts with the certificate, policy schedule or wording issued by an insurer, that document governs.