Marine cargo insurance
Cover for goods while they move by sea, air, road or rail, against the loss and damage that can happen in transit, written on the Institute Clauses used in international trade.
What it covers
Cover varies between insurers and plans. The policy wording is what decides whether a claim is payable, so read it before you buy.
- Loss of or damage to the insured goods during the voyage or journey
- The perils covered by the clauses you choose, from the widest to the most restricted
- General average and salvage charges, and the sue and labour costs the policy allows
- Transhipment, and incidental storage in the ordinary course of transit
- War and strikes risks, where those clauses are added
Cover options
- Institute Cargo Clauses A, B or C, chosen against the goods, the packing and the route
- A specific policy for one shipment, or an open cover declaring shipments as they go
- Annual or sales turnover policies for regular shippers
- Duty and increased value cover for imports, insured separately
- Cover incepting and ending per the transit clause, warehouse to warehouse as it provides
- Sum insured usually invoice value plus freight plus an agreed margin
How to buy it
Four steps, with an advisor you can reach at any of them.
Tell us about the risk
Tell us the goods, the packing, the route and mode of transport, and the value per shipment or your annual turnover.
Underwriting details
An advisor collects the information insurers need to price the risk, and flags anything missing.
Compare quotes
We ask our partner insurers to quote, and put the cover, conditions and premium side by side.
Proposal & policy
Pick a quote, complete the proposal form and KYC, and the insurer issues the policy.
Marine cargo insurance: FAQs
Who insures the goods, the buyer or the seller?
Whoever carries the risk under the sale contract. Incoterms such as CIF, FOB and EXW decide where risk passes, and that decides who needs the cover.
Is the shipping line or transporter not liable?
Carrier liability is limited by law and by the contract of carriage, and is usually far less than the value of the goods. Cargo insurance covers the goods themselves.
What is general average?
A principle of marine law under which a sacrifice made to save the whole venture is shared by everyone with an interest in it. Your share is payable by you, and cargo insurance covers it.
When does the cover have to be arranged?
Before the goods move. A policy cannot be arranged once a loss is known, which is why regular shippers use an open cover that insures every declared shipment automatically.