What is typically excluded from insurance policies due to its nature of causing damage?

Inherent vice refers to the natural characteristics of certain items or materials that can lead to their own deterioration or damage. In the context of insurance, this concept is significant because it implies that certain types of damage are considered unavoidable due to the fundamental properties of the insured object. For instance, items like fruit or perishable goods have an inherent vice as they decay over time. Because this type of damage is expected and cannot be prevented through insurance coverage, policies often exclude inherent vice from compensation.

This exclusion protects insurers from covering losses that are fundamentally tied to the nature of the item itself, instead of unforeseen accidents or external events. Understanding inherent vice helps policyholders recognize the limitations of their coverage and the types of risks that insurance policies are not designed to address.