Losses

• CATEGORIES OF LOSS
• the Marine Insurance Act 1906 provides
that (in marine insurance), a loss may be
either
• total or
• partial, and
• that any loss other than a total loss, as
defined in the Act, is a “partial loss”.
• a total loss may be either
• an “actual total loss”, or
• a “constructive total loss”.
• * Marine losses may thus be categorised
as:
• • total losses; and
• • partial losses (a partial loss being known
as “average”).
• * Total losses may be categorised
as:
• • actual total losses (sometimes
written as “ATLs”); and
• • constructive total losses (or
“CTLs”).
• * A partial loss (or “average”) will always
be categorised as either:
• • particular average (sometimes written
as “PA”); or
• • general average (or “GA”),
• - depending on whether the loss meets the
qualifying criteria to be treated as a
general average loss or not.
 TOTAL LOSSES

• Actual total loss

• the Marine Insurance Act 1906 provides
that there is an “actual total loss” where
the subject matter insured is destroyed,
or
• so damaged as to cease to be a thing of
the kind insured, or
• where the assured is irretrievably
deprived of the subject-matter insured.
• where the ship concerned in the
adventure is missing, and after the
lapse of a reasonable time no news of
her has been received, an actual
total loss may be presumed.
• * An actual total loss may thus
occur in four ways:
1. • where the property insured is
actually destroyed, e.g. where a
ship is wrecked or burnt out, or
where goods are crushed in the
collapse of a stow of cargo;
2. • where goods change their character to such a
degree that they can be said to be no longer a
thing of the kind that was insured, e.g. where
dates become “mush”, or where cement powder
solidifies;
3. • where the assured is irretrievably deprived of
his property, e.g. where a ship is sunk in very
deep water; or
4. • where the insured property is posted “missing”
at Lloyd’s, e.g. where a ship has not reported for
several weeks.