Marine Cargo Insurance

As a responsible Forwarder we arrange Freight Liability Insurance through our broker (standard in our industry) which covers our liability to you for Loss or Damage to goods and also our liability for Errors and Omissions / Breach of Duty.

Sometimes there is a degree of confusion and misunderstanding as to the insurance cover provided under a Freight Liability policy.  This can lead to problems and we think you should be aware of the following facts:

• A Freight Liability Policy does not cover your cargo on an ALL RISKS basis.
• Liability has to be proven in each case.
• Claims are settled only up to certain financial limits based on the weight of your consignment, these may not cover the value of your cargo.
• Liability claims can take a long time to be settled.

There have been a number of high profile cases in the Freight industry during 2013 including the arrest of the “C Ladybug” and the sinking of the “MOL Comfort” which broke in half with several thousand containers lost in the Indian Ocean – you can view details at www.molcomfort.com and to this end we want to make you fully aware of the problems that can arise without a Marine Insurance policy.

For Ro Ro customers take a moment to consider what it would mean to your company if this was to happen to one of the large vessels going out to Africa and consider whether you can do without the peace of mind and whether your business could cope with such a great loss.

All clients should also consider the chance of a General Average claim whereby damage that has been effected to a vessel is to be partially paid for by each cargo owner aboard prior to cargo being released back to clients care even if your cargo was not in the area damaged.

To this end we can offer assistance to help you obtain either individual Marine Cargo Insurance or the more cost effective annual Marine Cargo Insurance policy alongside our colleagues at a well respected and market leading marine insurer.

Please let us know if you need any further information and we trust that you find the above of interest whilst urging all clients to seriously consider this option.  If you require individual insurance (per shipment) this can also be arranged – please contact our office for further information.  For Africa as an example this is generally at 0.70% of value of goods plus freight.