Official text
War and Cyber Operations Exclusion No.4
(For use on commercial cyber insurance contracts)
If there is a conflict between any provision in this policy and this Endorsement, the terms of this Endorsement will prevail.
1. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this insurance, this insurance does not cover that part of any loss, damage, cost, or expense, of any kind:
1.1 directly or indirectly arising from war, and/or
1.2 arising from a cyber operation that is carried out as part of a war, or the immediate preparation for a war, and/or
1.3 arising from a cyber operation that causes a state to become an impacted state.
Paragraph 1.3 shall also apply to exclude the direct or indirect effect of a cyber operation on a computer system used by an insured or its third party service provider that is not physically located in the impacted state.
Attribution of a cyber operation to a state
2. Notwithstanding the insurer's burden of proof, which shall remain unchanged by this clause, in determining attribution of a cyber operation to a state, the insured and insurer will consider such objectively reasonable evidence that is available to them. This may include formal or official attribution by the government of the state in which the computer system affected by the cyber operation is physically located to another state or those acting at such other state's direction or under its control.
3. The parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the determination of attribution to this exclusion promptly by negotiation. Should the parties be not able to resolve the issue of attribution within thirty (30) days of the issue being raised in writing, either party may submit the dispute for a binding decision from a competent and disinterested umpire with the relevant knowledge and experience in international law matters to determine the attribution of a state backed cyber-attack to one or more states. All applicable statutes of limitations and defences based upon the passage of time shall be tolled, or a standstill agreement shall be agreed by the parties, until the attribution issue is determined. The parties will take such action, if any, required to effectuate such tolling or standstill agreement.
The parties agree that no suit will be filed by either party against the other party seeking resolution of any dispute arising out of or relating to this exclusion no sooner than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of a binding decision from a competent and disinterested umpire, or the parties have otherwise resolved the attribution issue if sooner.
Definitions
4. Computer system means any computer, hardware, software, communications system, electronic device, server, cloud infrastructure or microcontroller including any similar system or any configuration of the aforementioned and including any associated input, output, data storage device, networking equipment or back up facility. If there is any inconsistency between definitions of computer system in this exclusion and the contract of insurance, the definition in the contract of insurance shall apply.
5. Cyber operation means the use of a computer system by, at the direction of, or under control of a state to:
5.1. disrupt, deny access to, or degrade functionality of a computer system, and/or
5.2 copy, remove, manipulate deny access to or destroy information in a computer system.
6. Essential service means a service that is essential for the maintenance of vital functions of a state including, but not limited to, financial institutions and associated financial market infrastructure, health service or utility services.
7. Impacted state means any state where a cyber operation has a major detrimental impact on:
7.1 the functioning of that state due to disruption to the availability, integrity or delivery of an essential service in that state, and/or
7.2 the security or defence of that state.
8. State means sovereign state and any non-member observer state as classified by the United Nations.
9. War means armed conflict involving physical force:
9.1 by a state against another state, or
9.2 as part of a civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military action or usurpation of power, whether war be declared or not.
LMA5567A (amended)
Official text LMA ↗Covered scope
Narrower than standard 5567A. Residual cover for below-threshold cyber operations survives, but the insured does NOT get the bystanding write-back: a system outside the impacted state that suffers collateral effect is not written back.
Excluded scope
War, cyber war operations, any cyber operation rendering a state impacted, AND the effect on third-party cyber assets outside the impacted state. It is that last point that brings it, in practice, close to the level of 5566.
Use cases
Taken by insurers who want the bystanding write-back closed while keeping the 5567 architecture, with attribution framed by an umpire. Reserve it for placements where cutting exposure matters more than commercial appeal.
Limitations
Materially harsher on the insured than standard 5567A, and that must be flagged without ambiguity. The umpire route adds a slow procedural layer. Widening the definition of state to UN observers extends the range of operations that may qualify as state-backed.
Context
A market variant circulated under the Hamilton name. A perfect illustration of how one word, also rather than not, reverses the economics of a clause.
Legal disclaimer
English texts are reproduced for educational purposes from official LMA sources.
French translations are unofficial and produced by AlgoPolis for educational purposes only.
Purely informational tool. No personal data collected, no trackers.
Type classification inferred by AlgoPolis from official Lloyd's definitions, to be confirmed with the LMA.
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