Carrier's & Forwarder's Liability Insurance
FREIGHT CARRIER'S LIABILITY INSURANCE
Carrier's Liability Insurance works in case carrier is liable for losses or damages to cargo caused by unprofessional performance of obligations indicated in CMR Convention. Limit of indemnity is determined by provisions of the Convention: not more than 8,33 SDR per one KG or 666 SDR per place. Limits of Liability may be indicated either in SDR or Euro.
Carrier's Liability Insurance policy includes following covers:
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Damage, loss or disappearance of cargo
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Financial claims to Assured – for example, in connection with delay in delivery or delivery to incorrect destination, repacking
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Third Party Liability – damage or destruction of property of third parties by transported goods. According to this clause Assured is also protected against damages to containers occurred during transportation
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Legal expenses
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Gross negligence
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Loss of freight, in connection with insured event, is compensated by Insurer, if Assured is not liable or released from an obligation
Assureds that carry out transportation not only to the EU are to have an additional cover – TIR, i.e. liability to customs and guarantee of paying customs duties for transported goods in case they are gone.
CMR policy is often required to join a professional association (for example, Association of Estonian International Road Carriers (ERAA).
FREIGHT FORWARDERS LIABILITY INSURANCE
Freight Forwarder is an intermediary party between cargo owner and carrier. Claims for undelivered or damaged goods are brought by cargo owners against a freight forwarder. In many cases a freight forwarder is able to resubmit a claim to a carrier. If, however, the latter is responsible for damaging goods and does not have a valid CMR policy and have declared themselves bankrupt they can evade their liability to cargo owner and freight forwarder will be forced to bear responsibility.
Freight Forwarder's Liability compensates losses to a cargo owner, third parties (for example, during loading / unloading), helps to cover possible expenses arisen from reloading, repacking and/or sorting (if necessary), customs charges, general average contribution and additional expenses for salvage of goods and their storage.
If needed, the cover may also include gross negligence, errors & omissions (negligence, accidental errors made in issued documents and in choosing routes).
Cargo Insurance
CARGO INSURANCE
With cargo insurance you can insure goods upon their transport from point A to point B. This protects the interest of the owner of the goods in a situation where the carrier is not required to compensate for damage or their liability is limited. The interest of the road carrier or freight forwarder is protected by their liability insurance.
The owner of goods should take out cargo insurance when the actual value of goods is greater than the product of the weight of the goods and the liability limit of the road carrier or freight forwarder (weight of goods x 8.33 SDR).
Cargo insurance is mostly used for insuring goods which are the object of a contract of purchase and sale. A cargo insurance contract should be entered into by the party to a contract of purchase and sale (purchaser or seller) who bears the risk of damage to, or destruction, or loss of goods according to the delivery terms.
There are two ways to cover either a Single Cargo Insurance Policy for a single shipment or a Long-term Cargo Insurance Policy or the so-called open cover policy normally for a term of one year for several cargo shipments.
Cargo Insurance provides coverage for cargo loss or damage arising from the causes such as:
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robbery
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fire
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traffic accident
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elemental forces, etc.
Insurance can be effected against all risks or against a specific risk. An insurance contract is signed in accordance with the Institute Cargo Clauses of the Institute London Underwriters.