Facts
This case involved a cargo insurance policy for 64 "Staghound" armored vehicles that were to be shipped from England to Basel. 22 of these vehicles were loaded onto a Dutch cargo ship in the port of Southampton on October 8, 1951, with half being loaded in the ship's hold and the other half on deck. During the ship's maneuvering at the quay to take on drinking water, an accident occurred in which nine of the vehicles loaded on deck fell overboard and sank in the water.
The purchaser of the vehicles, the Swiss Confederation, had taken out the cargo insurance policy with the defendant, the insurance company "Schweiz". However, the defendant denied liability for the damage, as the loading operations had already been completed at the time of the accident and there was no qualified accident within the meaning of the insurance conditions.
Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the accident had occurred during the loading process and therefore fell under the insurance coverage. Contrary to the view of the lower court, the Federal Court took a broad interpretation of the term "loading" (chargement), which includes not only the loading of the goods onto the ship, but also their distribution and securing on the ship.
The Federal Court justified this by stating that in general usage, particularly in Switzerland, the term "loading" is understood broadly and also includes the securing of the cargo on the means of transport. This broad understanding of the term is decisive here, as this is an insurance contract, where the general usage of language should be applied, and…