Definition of "Abandonment clause"

In marine insurance, clause giving an insured the right to abandon lost or damaged property and still claim full settlement from an insurer (subject to certain restrictions). Two types of losses are provided for under abandonment clauses:

  1. Actual total lossproperty so badly damaged it is unrepairable or unrecoverable; causes include fire, sinking, windstorm damage, and mysterious disappearance. For example, until the 1980s the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland in 1912, was deemed to be unrecoverable and the Commercial Union Insurance Company had paid its owners for their loss due to sinking. Owners of ships that mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle have been able to collect insurance proceeds. Disappearance of pleasure craft due to drug pirates has resulted in indemnification of owners through insurance proceeds.
  2. Constructive total lossproperty so badly damaged that the cost of its rehabilitation would be more than its restored value. For example, a ship and/or its cargo is damaged to such a degree that the cost of repair would exceed its restored value. The insured can abandon the property if (a) repair costs are greater than 50% of the value of the property after it has been repaired and (b) the insurance company agrees to the insured's intent to abandon.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

number of serious injuries per 1,000,000 employee-hours worked. ...

Written statement by an insurance company attesting to the powers it has vested in an agent. ...

Restriction on the benefit that owners and other highly compensated individuals may receive from a qualified pension or other employee benefits. The U.S. Tax Code requires that benefits ...

Protection against the death of an individual in the form of payment to a beneficiary usually a family member, business, or institution. In exchange for a series of premium payments or a ...

Policy similar to that of an individual universal life insurance policy except that the coverage is provided (up to a limit) without the requirement of the submission of evidence of ...

Applications for insurance coverage that have been forwarded to an insurer but not yet processed. ...

Coverage for liability exposures that result from manufacturing and/or contracting operations in process on a manufacturer's premises (all locations of ongoing operations) or, in the case ...

Amount for which financial loss for bodily injury incurred by the plaintiff must exceed before a tort liability action may be brought. ...

Representative of an insurance company who sells ordinary and industrial life insurance policies. In an effort to move their field forces into the ordinary life business, many industrial ...

Popular Insurance Questions