The liability of carriers engaged by us (whether by road, air, sea or rail) for loss of or damage to cargo is always limited in monetary terms by standard contract terms or by legislation and, in some cases, liability is excluded absolutely. It is also a fact of life that claims against carriers, no matter how small, are very time consuming and difficult. For this reason, it really is vital that cargo insurance is arranged to cover goods in transit. This is so important that in some countries it is compulsory by law for freight forwarders and logistics companies to arrange cargo insurance for customers unless the customer forbids it in writing.
Cargo insurance is, quite simply, good business practice and yet, shockingly, in excess of 60% of goods exported from or imported into the UK are uninsured. Importers or exporters would not dream of not insuring their warehouse or stock or factory, office or motor vehicles - which makes it even more of a mystery that so much cargo is uninsured where the risks of loss or damage are even greater. The financial and trading impact on companies of loss or damage to uninsured cargo can be devastating.
A major vessel or aircraft casualty or a road traffic accident
