Transport insurance

Most businesses that ship or carry goods are insured, and most assume the policy will respond when something goes wrong. The surprise comes after a loss: the goods were covered but the carrier’s liability was not, the vehicle was parked somewhere the policy excludes, or the cover does not match the terms agreed with a customer. By then, the only question left is who absorbs the gap.

Transport insurance is in fact a set of separate covers, bought by different parties at different points in the chain, that are easily confused and rarely fit together on their own. Reviewing them properly means looking at:

• the rules on the difference between insuring the goods themselves and insuring someone’s liability for them;
• the rules on insurable interest, and on who may claim under a policy taken out by someone else;
• the rules on the perils covered and excluded, and on conditions such as approved packing or guarded parking;
• the rules on disclosure when cover is placed, and on declaring each shipment under an open policy;
• the rules on insured value and underinsurance, and on how a partial payment is calculated;
• the rules on the insured’s duties after a loss — notifying the insurer, limiting the damage and protecting recourse;
• the rules on subrogation, and on the insurer’s claim against the carrier once it has paid;
• the rules on general average, and on the security demanded before cargo is released;
• the rules on matching your cover to the liability you have accepted in your contracts.

Our lawyers can support you with this.