Cargo insurance and cargo liability insurance are two types of insurance that come into play when cargo is lost or damaged. There are some key differences between these two types of insurance:
Cargo insurance
- Covers the policyholder’s (e.g., the owner of the goods) investment in the goods.
- Provides financial protection in the event of physical loss or damage to the insured goods during transportation.
- It’s a policy issued by the insurance company to the cargo owner.
- Cargo insurance pays if the cargo is damaged, regardless of the fault of the party transporting the cargo.
- Examples of cargo insurance include “all-risk” cargo insurance and named perils cargo insurance.
Cargo liability insurance
- Covers the transportation company and its responsibility to pay you for your cargo loss, if proven negligent.
- Provides financial protection in the event that the transportation company is held liable to pay you for a loss or damage to the goods during transportation.
- Examples of cargo liability insurance include motor carrier cargo insurance and ocean cargo liability insurance.
- Cargo liability insurance is limited because the transportation company may have defenses to avoid liability for the cargo loss.
Cargo insurance is something that you buy to protect against your financial losses from the loss of or damage to goods during transportation. Cargo liability insurance, on the other hand, is intended to protect the transportation company from the financial impacts of your cargo claims.
Learn More
- What is cargo insurance & why do I need it?
- Why should I purchase cargo insurance instead of using my business' existing commercial insurance?
- How do you calculate Total Insurable/Insured Value (TIV)?
- What factors should you consider when deciding to purchase insurance either by a per shipment basis or an annual policy for your cargo shipments?
- What are the risks of not purchasing cargo insurance?