Types of Cargo Insurance

One of the major types of insurance policies that you will have to deal with in the trucking industry is cargo insurance.This is typically a requirement by the shipper before they will assign you the bill of lading. Hopefully you are working with a reputable commercial insurance company that can properly aid you in the type of policy you need but it is also important that you have a general understanding as well of your specific insurance coverage needs to protect your business and yourself. We will be taking a deeper look at this type of policy and the different variations of it to give you a better insight and level of preparedness when it comes time to add it. The various types include land cargo, marine cargo, all risk, general average, warehouse to warehouse, and perils policy. How do you know which policy is right for you and the specifics of your business?

What is Cargo Insurance?

Freight insurance, more commonly referred to as a cargo insurance policy, is a particular type of insurance coverage that protects the carrier’s liability from a financial loss due to physical loss or damaged cargo in loads run by a company. A cargo policy will pay up to the amount in which you are insured for if there is a claim. You will want to keep this in mind when dealing with the underwriter and your insurance provider to make sure that you have an appropriate amount of coverage on a renewable policy for the loads that you typically haul. But you should also know that there are actually several different types of cargo policies available, so let’s take a deeper look at these and see which one will best fit the needs of your trucking company.

Land Cargo Insurance

A land cargo insurance policy is the most common policy type for over the road truckers and insures cargo that is transported by land transportation, including semi trucks and other vehicles.This policy will cover theft, damage from collision, as well as other factors involved in land transportation of cargo.

Marine Cargo Insurance

trade shipping with importers. While this is a marine based policy, you may encounter it as the policy covers damage due to loading and unloading, weather, piracies etc that could impact the carriers liability.

All Risk

All risk is pretty much what the name says, a policy that covers all risk of damaged or lost shipments. With that being said, there are some factors that can still play against the policy’s coverage as exclusions such as goods that are inherently prone to spoiling, damage, and physical loss, or an external cause and/or external factors that would be classified as a natural disaster or acts of god.

Warehouse to Warehouse

This type of policy is commonly used within a supply chain and covers the freight once it is unloaded from the ship and is on its way to the customer’s warehouse. It only applies to your cargo even if it is transported with other freight in the truck.

Named Perils Policy

Cargo insurance covers loss or damage to freight in transit. There are two main motor truck cargo coverage forms written today, named peril and legal liability. Named peril insurance is just what it sounds like; the insured is covered for loss or damage to freight caused by specific perils named in the policy.

Do you have more questions on trucking cargo insurance? Our team of trucking experts have answers and they would be happy to help. Give them a call today. 913-393-6100