Carriers' liability insurance through Chubb
As soon as a consignment moves from lorry to ship or aircraft, the liability regime changes too. Anyone who suffers a loss in that chain wants to know under which regime it happened.
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In brief
Chubb is one of the companies Finass places business with, without any tie: we compare several insurers objectively and the choice follows from your goods flows. We mainly use this insurer for businesses that organise cross-border and combined transport, where a consignment changes mode and carrier en route. For cover on the goods themselves there is a separate route; see the transport insurance and the project cargo cover.
The defining feature of multimodal transport is that each leg has its own liability regime. Road transport across the border falls under the CMR Convention, sea transport under the bill of lading rules that apply there, air transport under the Montreal Convention and inland waterway transport under a convention of its own. Each regime has different grounds for exemption, different time limits and a different calculation of the limit. A policy that follows road transport alone leaves the rest of the chain uninsured.
The second point is your role. If you accept transport and have it carried out by others, you are the carrier towards your customer, even without a fleet of your own. If you act as an intermediary who merely arranges transport, you are a freight forwarder and rely on different conditions. That classification is determined by what you actually agree, not by what your letterhead says. What else goes with it can be read at transport and logistics.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on a.s.r. – Carriers' liability insurance.
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Carriers' liability insurance
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What to look out for
Four questions that decide the outcome of a claim in international chains.
Where in the chain the damage arose
With a sealed container that is only opened at the final consignee, the place of the damage often cannot be established. That is no detail: the regime of the leg determines the limit and the time limits. So record transhipment points and condition inspections, with photographs of the seals. Without that record, the parties push the loss towards the leg with the lowest compensation.
Forwarding conditions do not work everywhere
Dutch forwarding conditions apply only if they have been validly agreed and if the applicable law accepts them. A foreign buyer or a foreign court can set them aside, after which you are judged under the full carrier's regime. Check for each customer contract which law and which forum has been agreed before you rely on your conditions.
Sanctions provisions and excluded areas
Every policy contains a sanctions clause: if a country, a party or a type of goods is hit by sanctions, cover lapses, even if the transport itself appears to be permitted. In addition, war, armed conflict and seizure by a government remain outside cover as standard. Check destinations and ports of call before you accept an order.
Customs documents and charges
If a transit document remains open or a consignment under customs supervision goes missing, an additional assessment of duties and excise follows. Those charges and fines are not damage to property and are excluded on an ordinary carrier's policy; separate customs cover exists for them. Record who is responsible for discharging the documents.
What does your premium depend on?
- Modes in your chains: road, sea, air or inland waterway, and the combinations of these
- Role per assignment: carrier, freight forwarder or logistics service provider
- Destinations and transit countries: including areas that fall outside the policy through sanctions
- Value and type of the goods: high-value and easily traded cargo weighs heavily
- Selection of subcontracted hauliers: how you vet subcontractors and what recourse you have against them
- Contractual arrangements with shippers: departures from the standard conditions increase your exposure
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | As a carrier | As a freight forwarder |
|---|---|---|
| A subcontractor you engaged overturns with the consignment in Germany | Yes | Provided that |
| Your driver parks the trailer unattended overnight and the load disappears | Yes | No |
| A consignment is delivered to the wrong party without any notification | Yes | Provided that |
| Damage to a sealed container that is only discovered at the final consignee | Provided that | Provided that |
| Your customer's loss of profit because a trade fair date was missed | No | No |
| An additional assessment of import duties because a transit document was not discharged | No | No |
Which column you are in is determined by what you agreed with your customer, not by what you call yourself.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The damage was only discovered at the consignee. Which regime applies then?
That is determined by what you can demonstrate. If the place of the damage cannot be established, the contract of carriage determines which rules apply to unknown causes of loss. The parties then argue about the leg, because the limit differs by mode. Condition inspections at every transhipment and intact seals are the only way to settle that argument.
I only arrange transport and do not drive myself. Do I need this cover?
Probably, yes. If you accept transport for your customer at a fixed price, you are treated as the carrier, even without equipment of your own. You are then liable for the mistakes of the party you engage. Only someone who can demonstrably show that they merely act as an intermediary falls under forwarding conditions. Have your contracts checked on this point before you choose a cover.
Are storage and transhipment en route insured as well?
Only in so far as those operations form part of the contract of carriage and stay within the period stated in the policy. If a consignment is held for longer, for example by a customs inspection or a refused delivery, your position shifts to that of a bailee. Report such a situation at once, because once the period expires cover ends without notice.
Does this policy also cover my customer's loss from a missed sale?
No. Consequential loss such as loss of profit, a contractual penalty or a missed trade fair date is pure financial loss. In the case of delay, your liability under the CMR Convention is moreover limited to no more than the carriage charge. If you take on more contractually, that is an extension that must be assessed in advance and that not every insurer will accept.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.