There are many varieties of war exclusion clause in the London Market but typically they fall into three categories:

“Damage occasioned by war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution^ insurrection or military or usurped power, nationalisation, confiscation, requisition, seizure or destruction by a government or any public authority.”

This is the exclusion clause found in many standard ARPI policies in the London Market In the next section some of these terms are considered but it should be noted that the exclusion includes no words of introduction that may help in easing the proof of causation.

“Loss or damage directly or indirectly occasioned by happening through or in consequence of war, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities, etc”.

The important phrases are “directly or indirectly” and “happening through or in consequence of”. For example, in Coxe v. Employers’ Liability Assurance Corporation [1916] 2 KB 629 the assured was killed by a train during a wartime blackout. In the assured’s life policy, death was excluded if directly or indirectly caused by war risks. It is quite clear that the proximate cause of death was the train. However, the fact that the parties had included the word “indirect” in the policy displaced the proximate cause test and the policy did not respond.

Many phrases (such as “remotely caused by” or “in any way connected with” and “in anyway contributing to”) have been used in these clauses with the intention of widening the scope of the war exclusion so as to displace the proximate cause rule. Thus, if “war” is only part of the cause of the loss, the loss will fall within the exclusion-even if another cause may have directly occasioned the loss.

Certainly, such a phrase should be included in any exclusion clause where the policy covers risks in locations likely to be the subject of some form of political upheaval.

(a) This policy does not insure against loss or damage occasioned by or through, directly or indirectly, contributed by or in connection with or in consequence of war, invasion, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), act of foreign enemy, civil war, mutiny, riot, military or popular rioting, revolution, rebellion, insurrection, military or usurped power, martial law, confiscation by order of any government or public authority.

(b) If any loss or damage to the insured property occurs in an area which is affected by any of the abnormal conditions referred–.’to in sub-paragraph (a), the loss or damage shall be deemed to be excluded from the policy unless the insured shall prove that such loss or damage occurred independently and was not occasioned by or through, directly or indirectly, contributed by or in connection with or in consequence of the abnormal conditions.”