Building materials are heavy and worth little per kilo, so the liability limit rarely pinches here and the risk shifts to breakage, contamination and unloading on the building site.
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In brief
With most kinds of cargo the carrier's limit per kilo is the problem. With sand, gravel, cement, sand-lime brick, tiles, roof tiles and insulation that is often not the case: the load weighs a great deal and is worth little per kilogram, so a liability payment per kilo can cover a real part of the loss. The risk here lies elsewhere.
Where things go wrong with building materials is in the unloading and in the weather on the way. A pallet of bricks sliding off the forks, a load of sand tipped into the wrong silo, a load of plasterboard that got wet under a poorly tensioned sheet: those are the files. Hardly any of those cases is a collision, and that makes the question whether there was an external peril a live one every time.
The third point is the transition to the building site. As soon as the material has been unloaded, transit cover stops and the territory of the construction all risks insurance for the project begins. Theft of bricks that have stood beside the site hut for three days is not transit damage.
What does transport insurance for building materials 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.
Breakage comes from stacking and lashing, not from bad luck
Tiles, roof tiles and facing brick break if the stack is too high, the pallets have not been wrapped or the sheet lets the load shift. Insurers treat that as insufficient packing or unsound stowage, and that is excluded on virtually every policy. Photograph the load before departure and record how it was secured; that difference determines whether a claim for breakage is treated as inherent defect or as transit damage.
A contaminated bulk load is lost in its entirety
In bulk carriage what counts is not the quantity but the purity. A residue of the previous load in the body, moisture in a silo or unloading into the wrong store makes the whole consignment unusable, even where nothing is visibly wrong. Unloading into the wrong silo is also not transit damage but a mistake by your employee, which ends up with your liability insurance through Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. Record the cleaning between loads.
Protection against the weather is your responsibility
Rain on cement, plaster or mineral insulation makes the material unusable without anything external having occurred. Insurers treat that as insufficient protection and not as a covered event. So work with sound sheeting or a closed body, check the sheet at every stop and note that in the journey records. Without a demonstrable measure, weather damage to hygroscopic material is in practice insured nowhere.
After unloading, transit cover stops
The goods policy runs until the moment of delivery at the agreed place. Material left standing on the site after that comes under the construction all risks insurance for the project or under the contractor's stock cover. Theft of building materials from an open site is therefore hardly ever a transit claim. Record in the contract at what moment delivery is complete and who bears the risk from then on.
What does your premium depend on?
Type of material. Bulk, stacked pallets and prefabricated elements each produce their own pattern of loss and their own premium loading.
Annual value transported. With open policies the total value of consignments per year is the basis of calculation.
Own transport or subcontracted. If you drive yourself, different conditions apply from those where a charter haulier or construction logistics firm drives.
Loading and unloading method. A lorry-mounted crane, a forklift, a tipper or discharge into a silo each carry a different chance of damage.
Number and nature of the delivery addresses. Unmade building sites and inner-city unloading points weigh more heavily than delivery to a fixed depot.
Type of cover chosen. Cover limited to named events is cheaper for bulk carriage but leaves precisely the typical losses uninsured.
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.
Only if you can show that the load was properly sheeted and the sheet was damaged, for example by a collision or a storm. Material that got wet under a poorly tensioned or missing sheet counts as insufficient protection and is a ground for exclusion. Record the sheeting at departure and you have something to rely on when you claim.
Who bears the risk after unloading on the building site?
From the agreed moment of delivery, the consignee does, the contractor or the client. The material then comes under the construction all risks insurance for the project. Record for each contract when delivery is complete, because it is precisely around that moment that arguments arise about theft and damage on an open site.
Is breakage of tiles and bricks covered?
That depends on the cause. Breakage from a collision or the vehicle overturning is a covered event. Breakage because the pallets were stacked too high, were not wrapped or shifted during the journey is treated as unsound packing or stowage and falls outside the cover of virtually every policy.
Is the limit per kilo adequate for building materials?
More often than with other cargo, because the value per kilogram is low. Even so, that is not a general rule: prefabricated elements, cladding and installation materials have a high value at limited weight. Work out for each type of consignment what the liability limit produces before you decide that a goods policy is unnecessary.
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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