Skip to main content
Choose your location
Select the location and the language that you prefer
What can we help you find?
Product

Undercover

Undercover is a specialized insurance solution that combines coverage for cargo, political violence, and political risk; reducing uncertainty by minimizing coverage gaps and avoiding claims disputes.

Responding to a new level of political risk

Undercover is a tailored and flexible policy solution providing cover for a variety of geopolitical exposures. Effective management of such risks is a crucial component of business success and Undercover can help companies by transferring some of those exposures to a single policy to protect cargo in transit and in store.

Smart. Tailored. Flexible.

Undercover combines cargo, war on land, terrorism, political violence and confiscation coverage for cargoes in transit and store.

Smart: Undercover provides a one-policy solution for multiple, geopolitical cargo exposures

Tailored: Undercover enables you to build bespoke coverage to suit your operations and risk profile

Flexible: Undercover offers a suite of solutions that can work in conjunction with your current cargo insurance arrangements

Benefits: One policy, one solution

This smart, tailored and flexible solution covers multiple risks in one policy that:

  1. Minimizes the potential of gaps in coverage
  2. Reduces the likelihood of possible disputes that may arise in the recovery of claims and also removes the need to establish the motivation behind an event (which can prove difficult during political uncertainty)
  3. Can be more cost-effective
  4. Is flexible: There is no requirement to purchase all sections of cover, giving cargo owners the flexibility to choose the specific cover their businesses needs
  5. Provides protection from rising insurance costs when the country's risk rating changes, as cover is purchased on a global basis

Perils included

  • Transits by sea, land or air
  • Goods in store, including stock where no transit is involved
  • Political violence while in storage and during transit
  • Terrorism while in storage and during transit
  • Strikes, riots and/or civil commotion in storage and during transit
  • Looting whether politically motivated or otherwise
  • War on land extended to include storage exposures
  • Revolution, rebellion and insurrection while in storage or on land
  • Confiscation, appropriation, expropriation, seizure, requisition for title, detention and nationalization
  • Deprivation
  • Forced abandonment

Undercover illustrative claims scenario

An insured exports goods to the Middle East which are then stored in a warehouse. The warehouse is looted and later set on fire. At the time there is no formal definition as to how the troubles in the country are classified and were described in the press as a riot, civil commotion, insurrection and civil war.

The assured submits a claim for total loss of the goods due to fire. During the investigation it transpires that the warehouse was also used for the storage of government goods. Due to the turmoil in the country it is not possible to identify if the goods had been taken during the looting or whether they were destroyed in the fire.

Cargo Insurers decline the claim for the following reasons:

  • The looters targeted the warehouse as it held government goods and were therefore acting for politically motivated reasons.
  • If the goods were still in the warehouse at the time of the fire, the fire was due to civil war or insurrection.
  • The political violence policy includes looting, however insurers decline the claim as the cause of the fire is not politically motivated.
  • Covers looting whether politically motivated or not and claim would therefore be recoverable.
  • It also includes losses due to fire and would again respond.
  • As there is only one policy in force, there is no dispute as to whether the goods were in store at the time of the fire as both scenarios are covered.

Undercover related products

ProductCargo Facultative Reinsurance
Cargo Facultative ReinsuranceWTW has many years’ experience placing facultative cargo reinsurance on behalf of brokers and insurers worldwide.Product Information
ProductGlobal Programs
Global ProgramsWe recognize that the management of risk for an organization with assets and operations worldwide can be complex. By working with you, we can assist in bringing together your global exposures into one insurance program.Product Information
ProductTrade Flow
Trade FlowTrade Flow is an online cargo policy management system that provides our clients with a means to manage certificates of insurance, record transits, submit claims and follow their status updates.Product Information
ProductStock and Stock Throughput
Stock and Stock ThroughputAs cargo insurance specialists, a significant proportion of the risks we place globally include stock exposures or cover for goods in store.Product Information

Undercover related capabilities

Cargo
Credit and Political Risk
Marine
Contact us