A partial loss borne by the affected interest alone, as opposed to general average, which is shared among all the interests in the adventure.
Particular average is partial damage suffered by the ship or the goods which stays with the affected interest alone, because it was not incurred for the common safety. It is the default category: any damage that does not meet the definition of general average falls into it, and the classification turns on whether there was a voluntary and reasonable act done in the interest of the whole adventure. Older cargo policies described themselves as free of particular average, a formula that excluded such partial damage and left only total loss and the general average contribution, a mechanism whose softened heir is the Institute C form. In practice the distinction commands two opposite treatments: particular average is settled directly between assured and underwriter, subject to a deductible, while general average requires an adjustment, security posted by every shipper and months of procedure. The problem solved is not to place on innocent third parties a loss that nothing made useful to the community of the adventure.
When the container ship Maersk Honam caught fire in the Gulf of Oman on March 6, 2018, destroying part of the 7,860 containers aboard and killing five crew, the general average declaration required every shipper, including those whose goods were untouched, to post a deposit of 42.5% of value, whereas particular average would have stayed with the affected owner alone.
avarie simple, franc d'avaries particulières