Marine Freight Insurance is protection along the transport chain.
Marine Cargo Insurance, or Ad Valorem Insurance, can cover your goods from the factory to the final delivery. Whatever the mode of transportation used: sea, air, land, river.
Your Marine Cargo Insurance Brokers deliver a unique certificate of insurance for all transport.
Marine Freight Insurance protects against liability limits established by International Conventions.
It is wrong to think that in the event of a disaster, your carrier’s liability insurance is sufficient to cover all of your damages.
Indeed it is only if the liability was incurred and proven that you will receive a lump-sum payment. The amount is specified in international conventions, which usually is less than the damage actually suffered.
- Under the Hague-Visby rules applicable to maritime transport: 2 SDR per kilo (about $2.97) or 666.66 SDR per package (about $989.55) as of October 2014. The strongest of the two limits apply.
- For air transport, except the declaration of value or gross negligence:
- 16.5837 SDR per kilogram ($24.62 per kilo) under the Warsaw Convention.
- 17 SDR per kilogram ($25.23 per kilo) under Montréal Convention.
- For international road transport (CMR), 8.33 SDR per kilogram, or $12.36 per kilo. Those excepting declaration of value or special interest in delivery, as well as fraud or gross negligence of the carrier.
You can contact your Marine Cargo Insurance Brokers for other limitations of liability and provide you with additional information on Marine Freight Insurance.
Furthermore, if the carrier’s liability is not engaged (such as in cases of force majeure), you will not receive any compensation.
Instead, Marine Freight Insurance compensates you on the declared insurance value. If you have Marine Cargo Insurance for your goods actual value and freight cost base + 10%, you will be compensated in that proportion.
Marine Freight Insurance protects against the general average.
Often misunderstood, the general average can have serious financial consequences.
There is General Average if a commander has to sacrifice some of the goods on board to escape a threatening danger.
There is also General Average if a danger incurs very important rescue costs (eg fire, grounding …).
In those cases, all parts having goods on the ship must participate in the expenses in the proportion to the saved values.
Marine Freight Insurance Protects in case of disaster
It is often difficult and expensive to find the responsible for damage throughout the transport chain. The settlements are very rare and often derisory
If you subscribed a Marine Freight Insurance for your goods, you will be directly compensated for your damages.
Marine Cargo Insurance Brokers role:
- He is your agent.
- He advises you and negotiates the best terms for your Marine Freight Insurance
- He defends your interests in case of damage (procedures, reserves, creation of the record, expertise …)
