Claims Lab
Business Interruption / Marine Cargo
Hypothetical training case
A critical shipment is delayed without damage
Does delay alone trigger standard cargo or property business-interruption cover?
Incident
A critical shipment is rerouted around a conflict zone and arrives six weeks late, stopping production. The cargo is not physically damaged.
Coverage question
Does delay alone trigger standard cargo or property business-interruption cover?
Relevant clause
Physical-damage trigger, delay exclusion, contingent BI, suppliers, and any trade-disruption extension.
Insurer argument
There is no insured physical damage and standard cargo wording excludes loss caused by delay, so the financial loss is outside cover.
Insured argument
A specific non-damage, supplier, prevention-of-access, trade-disruption, or delay-in-start-up extension may respond if its conditions are satisfied.
Indicative analysis
Standard covers commonly have a trigger gap here. Recovery requires a specifically worded extension whose trigger, territory, dependency, waiting period, sublimit, and exclusions match the facts.
Practical lesson
Map critical suppliers and routes before renewal; do not assume an all-risks label covers delay, loss of market, demurrage, or production shortfall.