Protect Your Products in Shipment - Cargo Insurance - Freight Insurance Mistakes

There is quite often a mistaken understanding aboutaround and gets damaged, or wet is your
cargo insurance, freight insurance.responsibility. Maybe it should have been packed
The biggest misunderstanding is "who's responsiblebetter. In any case, you have to protect yourself by
for what?" and then "how much are they responsiblecarrying your own insurance.
for?"Your Buyer's or Supplier's Insurance Is Not Enough
As the shipper, the person who actually owns theI don't know about you, but I always tell my clients
products and wants to get it transferredthat you should never be at the mercy of anyone or
somewhere, when we hand our products over toanything. It's plain risky to rely on someone else's
the carrier, the company who is responsible forinsurance. By buying your own insurance you are in
getting it where we want it to be in the time wecontrol of what kind of coverage, how much, and
want it to get there, we often assume that suddenlythe cost.
he's responsible for either getting it there in one pieceStolen or Mishandled Cargo is Your Responsibility
or paying u for the value of the product that is lost.Carriers typically limit how much they are liable for. If
And even then, one misunderstanding might be "whatyour cargo is stolen or damaged in transit, guess
is that value." Let's say that you have a shipment ofwhat, you might not even be able to recover your
your products that cost you $1,000 per item for youreplacement costs.
to produce, that's price 1. But the company you areHow Much Are They Responsible for?
delivering it to has paid you $1,500. And then, let'sAs I said in several of the statements above,
add in yet another value. If it isn't delivered, or if itfrequently the carrier limits not only what he's
doesn't get there on time, the loss to the companyresponsible for but, according to tariffs and the bill of
you are responsible to deliver to is over $10,000lading he may limit how much he's responsible for.
because they can't include it in some product theyYou may not even be able to recover even the cost
use it in.of replacement.
Who's responsible?Therefore, always be in control by having your own
What is the cost?insurance on the shipment. Work out with your own
Who's Responsible for What?insurance company what will be covered and how
Carriers are not liable for loss or damage caused bymuch. Be in control rather than at the mercy of
mother nature you areanyone.
Natural disasters aren't predictable and most carriersBy planning what your coverage should be rather
make sure that they aren't responsible in theirthan living with the carrier's insurance you can design
contracts. A shipment at sea that gets tossedthe outcomes and limit your risks.