What law governs my cargo policy?

Whatever the policy says. Clause 19 of the Institute Cargo Clauses makes the insurance subject to English law and practice, which is why the Marine Insurance Act 1906 is relevant to policies written well outside England. A policy on other conditions may specify a different law, and the certificate will say.

What do I have to tell an underwriter?

Under the Insurance Act 2015 duty of fair presentation, every material circumstance you know or ought to know, or enough to put the insurer on notice to ask — presented in a reasonably clear and accessible way. Prior losses, unusual storage, an atypical route and any change in the goods are the ones that get left out.

Does a comparison site need a licence?

To arrange or advise on insurance, yes — in the EU and EEA under the Insurance Distribution Directive, and in the United States under state producer licensing, with surplus lines authority where the insurer is not admitted. Publishing information does not, which is the line this site currently sits on.

The law behind the cover, and where we stand in it

Cargo insurance is a regulated financial product. This page sets out the instruments that decide what your policy means, and then states plainly what this platform is, what it is not, and what it will not do until somebody signs the paperwork.

MIA 1906Insurance Act 2015IDDUS surplus lines

Marine Insurance Act 1906

England and Wales, and wherever a policy is written subject to English law and practice

The codification the London market still runs on. It defines insurable interest (s.5) and when it must exist (s.6), the measure of indemnity, actual and constructive total loss (ss.57 and 60), particular and general average, and the insurer's right of subrogation (s.79). Clause 19 of the Institute Cargo Clauses makes the insurance subject to English law and practice, which is how the Act reaches policies far from England.

Marine Insurance Act 1906 — legislation.gov.uk

Insurance Act 2015

United Kingdom, business insurance

Replaced the old duty of utmost good faith with a duty of fair presentation of the risk, and made the remedies proportionate: avoidance only for a deliberate or reckless breach, and otherwise the contract is treated as it would have been had the truth been known. It also changed warranties from conditions that discharged the insurer outright into terms that suspend cover until the breach is remedied.

Insurance Act 2015 — legislation.gov.uk

Insurance Distribution Directive

European Union and EEA

Sets the authorisation, conduct, disclosure and product-oversight requirements for anybody distributing insurance — brokers, agents and comparison intermediaries alike. It is why an intermediary must tell you what it is, whether it advises, and how it is paid.

Directive (EU) 2016/97 — EUR-Lex

State producer licensing and surplus lines

United States

Insurance distribution is licensed state by state. Placing business with an insurer not admitted in the state requires a surplus lines licence and, in most states, a diligent-search requirement and a surplus lines premium tax. Marine cargo has its own treatment in several states, and none of it is uniform.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Where we stand

Five statements, each of which we hold ourselves to everywhere on the site.

We are an intermediary, not an insurer: We do not carry risk. Any cover is written by a licensed underwriter, on that underwriter's paper, under their wording.
We do not give advice: Nothing on this site is a personal recommendation that a particular cover, sum insured, clause level or deductible is suitable for you. Comparisons are information, not advice.
Our figures are indicative: Premiums shown are produced by our own rating tables. They are not market quotes, no insurer has agreed to them, and they do not bind cover.
Binding is gated: The bind path on this platform is closed. It stays closed until the licensing and delegated-authority position is confirmed in writing — quote-and-refer is the default model, and a live bind button before that confirmation would be the wrong thing to ship.
The wording governs: Where anything here conflicts with a certificate, a policy schedule or an insurer's wording, that document governs. Every page carrying a premium or a coverage statement says so.

Our full terms, including our role, how quotes work and how premium differs from our fee, are in the Terms. The legal index explains which documents govern the platform and which govern your insurance contract — they are not the same documents, and the insurer's wording prevails.

Common questions

What law governs my cargo policy?: Whatever the policy says. Clause 19 of the Institute Cargo Clauses makes the insurance subject to English law and practice, which is why the Marine Insurance Act 1906 is relevant to policies written well outside England. A policy on other conditions may specify a different law, and the certificate will say.
What do I have to tell an underwriter?: Under the Insurance Act 2015 duty of fair presentation, every material circumstance you know or ought to know, or enough to put the insurer on notice to ask — presented in a reasonably clear and accessible way. Prior losses, unusual storage, an atypical route and any change in the goods are the ones that get left out.
Does a comparison site need a licence?: To arrange or advise on insurance, yes — in the EU and EEA under the Insurance Distribution Directive, and in the United States under state producer licensing, with surplus lines authority where the insurer is not admitted. Publishing information does not, which is the line this site currently sits on.

Sources

This page is a summary of the regulatory landscape, not legal advice and not a statement of our authorisations in any particular jurisdiction.

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.