Cargo insurance estimator · ICC (A)/(B)/(C)
Enter shipment value, route, mode, goods category and ICC coverage tier. We return a defensible premium band, the insured value under the CIF × 110% rule, the applicable deductible, and a war-risk flag — all anchored to Lloyd's JCC and AIG Marine 2026 rates.
Certificate of marine insurance
Cargo Cover Schedule
Worked specimen · verified 2026-06-09
Price your own shipment
Next step
Once you know the premium band, the next move is to book the freight and add the cover. Cross-border shipping platforms sell per-shipment cargo insurance right at checkout alongside live carrier rates — so the cover travels with the booking instead of a separate broker round-trip.
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Cargo insurance for a typical commercial shipment costs 0.3%–2% of the insured value, which is set at (goods + freight) × 110% — the CIF × 110% rule. General cargo by sea starts at a 0.45% base rate under ICC (A) all-risks, rising with mode, goods category and route risk — verified 2026-06-09 against Lloyd's JCC bulletins and AIG Marine 2026 published rates. → get your premium band in the estimator below.
| Goods category | Sea | Air |
|---|---|---|
| General cargo | 0.45% | 0.55% |
| Electronics | 0.5% | 0.65% |
| Pharmaceuticals | 0.85% | 1% |
| High-value / luxury | 0.95% | 1.2% |
| Hazardous (IMO / IATA DGR) | 1.5% | 2% |
War-risk surcharge on JWC-listed routes adds a further 0.025%–0.1% of insured value.
Sources (checked 2026-06-09): Lloyd's Market Association — Joint War Committee listed areas · IUMI — cargo & marine insurance statistics · ICC — Incoterms 2020 rules (CIF / CIP insurance duties)
Last updated: 2026-06-21 · Data verified: 2026-06-09 against Lloyd's JCC listed-areas bulletin + AIG Marine 2026 published rates.
Why insure when the carrier is already liable
Carrier liability is capped far below most cargo values. Sea carriage under Hague-Visby recovers only 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kilogram; air under the Montreal Convention 26 SDR/kg (raised from 22 effective 28 Dec 2024); road under CMR 8.33 SDR/kg. A 200 kg pallet of electronics worth €20,000 recovers roughly €2,000 under the road cap — a tenth of the loss. Cargo insurance pays the full insured value, which is why it exists.
The insured value: CIF + 10% (the CIF × 110% rule)
The marine convention insures (goods value + freight) × 110% — the extra 10% covers anticipated profit and incidental landed costs a claim would otherwise leave uncovered. It is the basis the Institute Cargo Clauses and the Incoterms 2020 CIF / CIP minimum-cover duties both assume. Every premium figure on this page is a percentage of that insured value, not of the bare goods value.
Each pattern uses the same formula and dataset (version 2026-06-09, verified 2026-06-09) that powers the calculator above. Enter your own value, route, mode and ICC tier to get your premium band.
Insured value is (goods + freight) × 110% under the CIF × 110% rule. The premium is that insured value × the ICC (A) sea base rate for general cargo × the DE → US lane route multiplier, with a typical deductible band on top. → get your premium band in the estimator above.
Electronics fly at a higher ICC (A) air base rate than general cargo, and air runs above sea for every category — compare 0.55% vs 0.45% for general cargo. The premium is insured value × that air base rate × the FR → US lane multiplier. → get your premium band in the estimator above.
Israel is on the Joint War Committee listed-areas bulletin (snapshot 2026-06-09), so the estimate adds the war-risk surcharge of 0.025%–0.1% of insured value on top of the lane multiplier and base rate. → toggle war-risk and get your premium band in the estimator above.
Between roughly 0.3% and 2% of the insured value for most commercial cargo, per the rate tables verified 2026-06-09. The exact rate depends on four inputs: goods category (general cargo starts at 0.45% under ICC (A) by sea; hazardous goods reach 1.5%–2%), coverage tier (ICC (C) is the cheapest wording, ICC (A) the widest), transport mode (air runs 20%–30% above sea), and the route (lanes touching JWC-listed areas carry multipliers up to ×1.5 plus a war-risk surcharge). On a €60,500 insured value that span means anything from ~€160 (textiles, ICC (C), sea) to ~€1,200 (hazardous, ICC (A), air).
The marine-cargo convention is to insure (goods value + freight) × 110%. The extra 10% covers anticipated profit and incidental landed costs that a claim would otherwise leave uncovered, and it is the basis both Institute Cargo Clauses wordings and the Incoterms 2020 CIF/CIP minimum-cover duties assume. Example: €50,000 of goods plus €5,000 freight is insured at €60,500 — every premium figure on this page is a percentage of that number, not of the bare goods value.
They are the three standard Institute Cargo Clauses wordings. ICC (A) is "all risks" — everything except listed exclusions. ICC (B) covers a named-perils list (fire, stranding, collision, water entry, jettison). ICC (C) covers major casualties only (fire, explosion, stranding, collision, general-average sacrifice). The premium gap is visible in the rate table: general cargo by sea runs 0.45% (A), 0.38% (B) and 0.30% (C). For pharmaceuticals or perishables ICC (C) is usually too narrow — temperature or handling losses fall outside the named perils — which is why the calculator flags that combination.
When your route touches an area on the Joint War Committee listed-areas bulletin. As of the 2026-06-09 snapshot used here, the listed or adjacent areas include Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The surcharge typically adds 0.025%–0.1% of insured value on top of the base premium, and underwriters or the assured can cancel war-risk cover on 7 days' notice (the Institute War Clauses cargo standard), after which premiums may be re-rated — always confirm the current bulletin before binding.
Under Incoterms 2020, CIF obliges the seller to procure at least ICC (C) cover for 110% of the contract value; CIP raises the seller's minimum to ICC (A). Under EXW, FCA, FAS and FOB the buyer carries the transit risk and typically buys the cover. The incoterm selector in the calculator surfaces exactly this advisory, so the responsibility question is settled before you compare quotes.
Only up to treaty limits that sit far below most cargo values. Sea carriage under Hague-Visby caps liability at 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kilogram, whichever is higher; air carriage under the Montreal Convention caps at 26 SDR/kg (limit raised from 22 SDR/kg effective 28 December 2024); road under CMR caps at 8.33 SDR/kg. For a 200 kg pallet of electronics worth €20,000, the road cap recovers roughly €2,000 — a tenth of the loss. Cargo insurance pays the full insured value, which is why it exists despite carrier liability.
Deductibles scale with goods category and coverage tier. From the table verified 2026-06-09: general cargo runs €150–€500 under ICC (A) and €400–€1,000 under ICC (C); electronics €200–€800 (A) up to €500–€1,500 (C); hazardous cargo can reach €1,000–€5,000 under ICC (C). Note the pattern: the cheaper the wording, the higher the deductible band — pricing both together is the honest comparison, which is why the calculator returns the band next to every premium range.
No. The calculator returns an estimate range built from published market midpoints — it is not a quote, a contract or evidence of cover, and it is not financial advice under the EU Insurance Distribution Directive (2016/97). Use it to budget, sanity-check a broker's number, or settle the CIF/CIP responsibility question; then ask a licensed broker or underwriter for a bindable quote with your exact commodity, packing and route details.
Estimate only — not a quote, not evidence of cover
Results are orientative. They do not constitute an insurance quote, contract or evidence of cover, and are not financial advice within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97. Consult a licensed broker before binding.
Sources: Lloyd's Joint Cargo Committee bulletins, IMO/IATA tariffs, AIG Marine 2026 published rates.
Last updated: 2026-06-21 · Data verified: 2026-06-09 against Lloyd's JCC listed-areas bulletin + AIG Marine 2026 published rates.
All tables are versioned and date-stamped. The exact formulas live in the project's formula spec and are covered by unit tests against golden cases.
From the same lab — each tool answers the adjacent question in a cross-border shipping decision.