Liability
- Damage to third parties
- Employers' liability
- Care, custody and control as an extension
CMR · limit per kilo · limitation
Liability for carriers
Your liability as a carrier is capped per kilogram by law and by treaty, while the value of the cargo is not.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
That is the essence of the carrier's risk. In cross-border road transport the CMR Convention applies, with a liability limit of 8.33 SDR per kilogram of cargo damaged or lost. In domestic transport the AVC conditions apply with a limit of € 3.40 per kilogram. If you carry light, valuable goods, that limit covers a fraction of the actual value and the rest stays with the cargo interest.
That cap works both ways. It protects you against unlimited claims, but it also means clients assume you carry more than you do. So record in writing beforehand who takes out the goods in transit insurance. If that is not done, it turns out after a loss that nobody had insured the value and the dispute becomes whether you are entitled to rely on the limit at all.
Carrier's liability insurance is separate from your public and employers' liability insurance: the first covers damage to the cargo carried, the second damage to third parties outside the contract of carriage. If you also do loading, unloading or storage work, you touch a third regime, because storage falls under different conditions from carriage.
What does liability cover for carriers?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
- Business contents at replacement value as new
- Goods at cost price
- Business interruption or additional costs
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
- Continued pay for 104 weeks
- Group personal accident
- WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV | Cyber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury to a visitor or customer | Yes | No | No |
| Damage to a client's property | Sometimes | No | No |
| Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error | No | Yes | No |
| Downtime after a ransomware attack | No | No | Yes |
| Data breach involving personal data | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Damage to property in your care | No | 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.
The limit can be broken
You cannot rely on the limit per kilo in cases of intent or equivalent wilful recklessness on your part or that of your subordinates. A driver who leaves the tractor unit with a full trailer unattended in an unsecured car park when the instructions said otherwise puts your entire protection under the limit at risk. Set the parking and routing policy out in writing and monitor compliance; that file determines your position.
Limitation and the protest on delivery
Under the CMR a claim is in principle time-barred one year after delivery, and three years in cases of intent. Visible damage has to be noted by the consignee on delivery, and damage that is not visible within a short period afterwards. Have your driver obtain a signature on the consignment note at every delivery and photograph the cargo at loading and at delivery; a clean consignment note is your strongest defence.
Charters and subcontracted carriage
If you subcontract trips, you remain liable to your client as the contractual carrier. You then recover your charter's loss from them, provided they are insured and recovery is possible. Check the policy, the licence and the registration number for every new charter, and do not work with parties who only make contact by telephone; cargo theft through a forged charter agreement is a real scenario.
What is not for your account
Damage caused by an inherent defect in the cargo and by inadequate packing by the consignor is excluded, as is damage resulting from the client's own instructions. Under the CMR, delay damages are limited to no more than the carriage charge. Customs duties and fines arising from an incorrectly completed customs document do not fall under ordinary cover. And damage to your own tractor unit and trailer is own-damage, not liability.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of load — The value per kilogram is decisive; electronics and pharmaceuticals weigh more heavily than building materials.
- Area of transport — Domestic AVC carriage, EU carriage under the CMR and trips outside the EU each have their own rate.
- Number of tractor units — The fleet is the rating basis; combinations of tractor units and trailers are declared separately.
- Use of charter hauliers — Subcontracted carriage increases the risk of being liable without control over performance.
- Security and parking policy — Alarms, tracking, locks on the doors and the use of secure parking reduce the theft risk.
- Special regimes — ADR transport, refrigerated transport and valuables transport call for additional clauses and separate underwriting.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your activities, turnover and 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.
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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.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
What is the difference between the CMR and the AVC?
The CMR is a convention that applies mandatorily to cross-border road transport between contracting states, with a limit of 8.33 SDR per kilogram. The AVC are general conditions that parties agree for domestic carriage, with a limit of € 3.40 per kilogram. You cannot contract out of the CMR; the AVC only apply if you validly declared them applicable when the contract was concluded.
Do I have to insure the cargo myself?
Not as the carrier. Goods in transit insurance insures the interest of the owner of the cargo and pays the actual value, regardless of who is liable. The client often takes it out. Agree expressly who does so and record it in the transport order, because with light valuable goods the difference between the limit per kilo and the value is the whole amount of the loss.
Is theft of the trailer with its cargo covered?
Theft of the cargo falls under your carrier's liability, up to the applicable limit per kilo and provided you met the conditions. Insurers set requirements for parking, alarms and leaving vehicles unattended. Theft of the trailer itself is own-damage on the motor policy. Where cargo is stolen after a forged transport order, there is often an argument about whether there was carriage at all.
I also store goods briefly. Does that fall under the same policy?
Storage is a different service from carriage and falls under different conditions, with its own liability regime. Short-term storage that is inseparable from the trip is sometimes included; independent storage in a warehouse almost never is. Declare storage activities expressly, otherwise a gap appears at exactly the moment the goods are standing still.
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About our service
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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This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.