Inherent vice
Exclusion for damage caused by the instability or natural deterioration of the object itself, rather than by an external accidental cause.
Inherent vice is a property's tendency to deteriorate because of what it is made of: a material that cracks, a pigment that shifts color, a support that warps, an old textile that grows brittle. Policies exclude it because insurers cover accidents rather than aging; otherwise they would be paying for routine conservation instead of a fortuitous loss. The exclusion is sound in principle but bites hardest on the oldest objects, since it takes out of cover exactly what is most likely to happen to them. To tell natural deterioration from damage made worse in transit, you need to know the object's exact condition before it left. Hence the weight given to joint condition reports.
Textbook case: inherent vice comes up again whenever very high-value fragile objects are lent. The government indemnity program sometimes reads the exclusion more favorably to secure prestigious loans.
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