Marine Insurance FAQs

An all-risk cargo insurance policy is the broadest form of shipping insurance and will cover any physical loss/damage from any external cause. An all-risk policy will list any exclusions that are not covered, which can be added on to the policy as an additional clause. An annual open cargo policy automatically insures your shipments on set terms, conditions and rate without the need to contact your insurance broker or company each time.

The standard valuation for both annual volume reporting and payment of cargo insurance claims, unless otherwise requested, is 110%. This means that the total premium owed is calculated using the policy rate times 110% of the total cost of goods, and any covered losses are paid at 110% of the cost of goods, freight and insurance premium of the shipment, less deductible.

An annual all-risk shipping insurance policy does extend to goods temporarily stored during the normal course of transit. However, if goods are stored outside the normal course of transit, Warehouse Coverage may be added. Example: goods being stored in the importer’s warehouse pending shipment to the customer.

If goods on a bill of lading are split during the normal course of transit and continue to separate end destinations, domestic coverage can be added to the policy to cover those goods.

Deductible options are available upon request for a rate adjustment. Please allocate your deductible on the designated field within your quote request.

They do not unless you purchase specific cargo insurance from them, in which case the coverage provided is usually insufficient and ends up costing you more. Transportation carriers are not obligated to pay for your losses that occur beyond their control. Also, international law limits the liability of ocean carriers to a minimum of $500 per package. Air carriers similarly limit their liability and truckers, rail carriers, and warehouse owners limit their liability for loss according to their tariff.

It is possible that your goods may be less prone to loss or damage than others, but you still run the risk of a ship sinking, a plane crashing, or some other catastrophic event. It is important to keep in mind that a ship sinks every single day according to maritime statistics. In addition, you are vulnerable to General Average losses. A recent study concluded that a shipper will be involved in a General Average incident once every eight years. This could potentially lead to a business ending situation without a cargo insurance policy.

Before you come to this conclusion, let’s take a look at your volume, and utilizing our buying power, we can see just how much it’s going to cost. At the very least, if you currently have a policy, we can review it and suggest ways it could be improved. It costs you nothing to obtain a quote or advice from TPL Insurance.

There are some major issues with buying on CIF terms. The first problem with buying on CIF terms is that the importer has to deal with an overseas insurance company when a cargo insurance claim occurs. The chances are you are not a valued client of that insurance company, and even if the language barriers are not a problem, which they often are, getting the insurance company’s attention to take care of business, is a challenge. Secondly, foreign insuring terms are frequently inferior to other country’s terms. In addition, if you sell goods C.& F., then technically you, being the seller, have title and responsibility for the goods until they are loaded onto the ship or aircraft. As losses frequently happen in transit before they are loaded onto the ship or aircraft, it is not wise to allow them to go uninsured.

It’s simple! You only need to fill out a quote application. You can do so online or call us and we will walk you through the application over the phone. Once we have a completed application, it only takes 2-3 business days for us to respond with a quote.