general average

noun

1. Insurance. any damage or loss to a ship or its cargo voluntarily sustained, as freight jettisoned in a storm, by all parties to a voyage ( particular average ). : G.A.

general average

noun

1. insurance loss or damage to a ship or its cargo that is shared among the shipowners and all the cargo owners GA Compare particular average

Word History and Origins

Origin of general average¹

First recorded in 1690–1700

Example Sentences

The company made a “general average” declaration, which allows a third-party adjuster to determine what each stakeholder should contribute.

From Seattle Times

Classic cases involved jettisoning cargo — if the crew had to lighten a ship’s load to avoid sinking and tossed some but not all cargo, under general average everyone chipped in for the loss.

From New York Times

Part of that fight may involve a little-known ancient principle of maritime law called “general average.”

From New York Times

“General average is a shared sacrifice,” said William Fennell, chair of the Marine Insurance and General Average Committee for the Maritime Law Association of the United States.

From New York Times

I came to the conclusion that the classic way that we’ve developed products through 2019 was some average of the people I hired who brought their methodology from their company—I picked some kind of general average that seemed to make everyone happy.

From Slate