CARGO INSURANCE
WHAT IS CARGO INSURANCE?
Cargo insurance provides coverage for the loss, damage, or theft of goods during transport. Its purpose is to protect buyers or sellers against financial losses that may occur while goods are in transit. This insurance can cover various modes of transportation, including sea, air, rail, and road.
WHY YOU NEED CARGO INSURANCE:
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Protection against loss or damage:
During transit, cargo can be subjected to various risks such as accidents, theft, fire, vandalism, natural disasters, and even mishandling during loading or unloading. Cargo insurance provides financial protection against these risks, ensuring that you are compensated for any losses or damages that may occur.
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Proving legal liability is difficult and time consuming:
With so many entities involved with the movement of freight, it can be difficult to trace where damage/loss occurred or to prove who is liable for said damage/loss. Cargo insurance covers your loss without the need to prove liability.
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Carriers have limited liability:
Even if you are able to prove liability, you will only get back a portion of the costs associated with the damaged/lost cargo. On ocean shipments, carrier liability is limited to $500 per customary shipping unit, which could be a pallet or an entire container. On air shipments, two liability conventions exist. The Warsaw Convention limits liability to $20 per kilogram. The Montreal Convention (used in the United States) changed this limitation about $30 per kilogram. Domestic carriers commonly limit their liability to $0.50 per pound or $50 per shipment. Cargo insurance covers your full loss.
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General average:
Maritime law establishes that all sea cargo stakeholders (owner, shipper, etc.) evenly share the cost of any damage or loss that may occur as a result of voluntary sacrifice of part of the vessel or cargo to save the whole in an emergency. Once a vessel makes it to port after the emergency, cargo owners must pay a share of the loss before their cargo will be released to them even if their cargo was not directly involved in the loss. If, however, the cargo owner has cargo insurance, the goods will be released immediately, and the general average loss billed to the insurance company.
In summary, purchasing cargo insurance is a prudent and necessary step for cargo owners to protect their investments and manage the risks associated with international trade.
Cost is determined by the commodity, cargo value and transportation costs.
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HIGHLY PERSONALIZED SERVICE
We personally follow up and build relationships that make our clients feel like they are a part of our business family. They can rely on us to do whatever it takes to get their shipments delivered. When your cargo is on the line, you want to know you can reach someone that knows you, your shipment and that you can trust to treat your shipment like it's their own.
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Since 1983, International Freight Forwarders has been delivering peace of mind to our clients. We are founding members of WCA, the largest and most powerful network of independent freight forwarders in the world and are consistently ranked one of the top places to work in Atlanta which shows in our low turnover in an industry rife with turnover.