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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Ordinary transit cover is built around events: a collision, an overturning, fire, theft. In refrigerated transport such an event is usually absent. The unit cuts out, the temperature rises slowly and at the end of the journey the load is unusable without anything external having happened. A separate section is needed for that loss; without it, a refrigeration unit that fails is not a covered event.
That section also involves two different causes that have to be arranged separately. The first is machinery breakdown: the refrigeration unit itself breaks down. The second is an operating error or a wrong setting. Insurers do not treat those the same, and on some policies only the first is included.
The third point is evidence. With spoilage the question is always whether the temperature stayed within the agreed limits, and you can only answer that with a continuously recording logger. If it concerns foodstuffs, also look at goods in transit insurance for food products, where the rules on hygiene and rejection are dealt with.
What does transport insurance for refrigerated transport cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basis
Actual value
What the cargo is actually worth.
Not capped per kilogram
Regardless of who is liable
Including freight and costs
The difference
Liability
What a carrier bears at most.
CMR: 8.33 SDR per kilo
AVC: € 3.40 per kilo
Rarely the actual value
Optional
Type of cover
From limited to all risks.
All external perils
Limited perils
Storage in transit
What is covered
Situation
Carriers' liability
Goods in transit
Damage from an accident, up to the weight limit
Yes
Yes
Damage above the weight limit
No
Yes
Theft of the cargo
Sometimes
Yes
Damage with no identifiable fault
No
Yes
Storage during the journey
No
Sometimes
Inherent defect or inadequate packaging
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Without a separate section, spoilage is not a loss
Check whether your policy has a section for refrigeration damage, temperature deviation or spoilage and which causes it covers. If it is missing, a failed unit falls outside the cover because no external peril can be identified. The section usually sets a minimum duration of deviation and a minimum excess temperature before there is any loss; read those thresholds, because below them you are paid nothing.
Machinery breakdown depends on your maintenance file
Cover for failure of the refrigeration unit is almost always tied to a condition about maintenance: periodic servicing by an approved company, with demonstrable records per unit. Wear and tear, corrosion and deferred maintenance are themselves excluded. Only sudden failure is insured. Keep the service reports with the vehicle file, because that is the first thing the surveyor asks for after a claim for spoilage.
Cargo presented too warm is an inherent defect
A refrigeration unit holds a temperature but does not bring a load back down. If the consignment is presented too warm or the shipper's storage is not in order, the damage arose before the doors closed. Measure the core temperature at loading, note it on the consignment note and have the shipper sign it. Without that measurement you carry a risk that in fact belongs to the other party.
Recording, calibration and door openings
A logger that only shows the set temperature is not evidence. What is needed is a continuously recording device with a valid calibration certificate. Keep the printout for each journey. On distribution runs with many delivery points, every door opening means a rise in temperature: record the order of the stops and how long the doors were open. If the recording is missing, your position in the discussion is weak, even where there was in fact nothing wrong with your refrigeration.
What does your premium depend on?
Temperature regime. Fresh, frozen or a narrow band for pharmaceutical products each carry a different risk.
Type and age of the refrigeration unit. The condition of the unit and the presence of a second compressor count in the underwriting.
Number of delivery points per journey. Distribution runs with many door openings put more strain on the refrigeration than one direct journey.
Journey time and routes. Long journeys and warm destinations increase the chance that a failure leads to spoilage.
Machinery breakdown section. Including failure of the refrigeration unit itself is a separate choice that drives the price.
Excess per consignment. For spoilage losses a percentage or a fixed amount per consignment often applies as the excess.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Is spoilage from failure of the refrigeration unit covered?
Only with a section for refrigeration damage or machinery breakdown. Standard transit cover asks for an external event, and a unit that stops is not one. The section sets its own conditions: demonstrable maintenance, a valid temperature record and often a minimum duration of deviation before there is said to be a loss.
What if the data logger has no data?
Then you are missing the evidence the whole claim rests on. Without a record nobody can establish whether the temperature stayed within the limits, and the insurer does not have to assume the opposite. So check before departure that the logger works and is calibrated, and keep the printout for each journey together with the consignment note.
Who is responsible if the cargo was presented too warm?
The shipper. A refrigeration unit holds the temperature but does not bring a load that is too warm back to the right level. If the consignment is delivered outside specification, it is a defect in the goods themselves and that is excluded. So measure the core temperature at loading and have it signed off on the transport document.
Is a power failure at the depot covered?
That depends on the policy. If a trailer is plugged into the mains on your site or at a customer and that power fails, strictly speaking that is not a moment of carriage but a storage situation. Some policies cover it within the refrigeration damage section, others refer to the buildings or business contents cover for the location. Ask about this expressly.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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