Marine War-Risk Insurance
Marine war-risk insurance is a specialist insurance product that covers ships and their cargoes against losses arising from acts of war, hostilities, civil unrest, piracy, or related perils. It is separate from standard marine hull and cargo insurance (which covers weather, accidents, and mechanical failures). During peacetime, war-risk premiums are minimal; during conflicts near key shipping lanes, they spike dramatically, effectively functioning as a real-time market barometer of geopolitical risk.
- War-risk insurance is typically placed in the London market via Lloyd's of London or through the Joint War Committee (JWC)
- JWC maintains a list of "Listed Areas" — high-risk zones where enhanced premiums apply automatically
- Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz has been on JWC's Listed Areas since the 2019 tanker incidents
- During the 2019 attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, war-risk premiums rose to 0.1–0.25% of vessel value
- During the 2026 conflict: premiums climbed to 1–1.5% per voyage (a 4–15x increase)
- At 1.5% on a $100 million tanker: $1.5 million per voyage — often exceeds the commercial profit from a single cargo transit
- High premiums effectively function as a de facto traffic deterrent even without a formal closure
● Tracked since March 04, 2026 · last seen March 12, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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