Recreational boats are owned by many and just as cars are covered by insurance recreational boats too need insurance that protects the boat and its owner from many unforeseen happenings; accidents, natural disasters, willful damage and more.

Most insurance companies offer insurance policies for recreational boats. And these are mainly two kind’s boat policies and yacht policies. Boat policies are general with few options while yacht insurance policies have greater range of options. As a recreational boat owner you need to know which marine craft are classified as recreational and what kind of insurance cover you will need to protect your investment and passion.

Here are a few guidelines:

1. When buying insurance buy from a recognized company. You can buy recreational boat insurance online too but while attempting to save money make sure you get dependable and comprehensive coverage. General boat policies offer P&I coverage of approximately USD 500,000 maximum.

2. When buying a recreational boat find out what costs of maintenance and insurance will be. For example new boats are cheaper to insure and wooden boats and high speed vehicles are expensive. Similarly diesel powered boats cost less in terms of insurance than gas powered boats.

3. Insurance rates are lower if you ensure that all safety regulations/norms are taken care off.

4. Many insurance companies offer competitive rates if you have other policies with them like home, health, or auto. So the first step when buying a recreational boat policy is to check with your existing insurance carrier.

5. Find out the advantages of higher deductibles and payment of annual premiums. Always check online what is on offer as far as recreational boat insurance is concerned.

6. Update your knowledge on what comprehensive boat insurance should contain. Find out what physical damage and liability mean. As a recreational craft owner you need to take informed decisions when purchasing boat insurance.

7. Take the help of an insurance expert to decide on whether agreed value is better or actual cash value. It is important to understand what insurance terminology means before purchasing an insurance policy for a recreational boat.

8. Always read the policy in minutest detail and understand it completely. An insurance policy must work to your advantage and so it is important for you to know what you are paying for.

The World Wide Web has articles and tips on marine insurance written by experts as well as boat owners. Be an informed boat owner and keep abreast about boats, insurance, and savings. Follow the law and maintain your boat well. Take recommended courses and ensure that your boat driving record is above reproach. Small steps will ensure that you are eligible to buy recreational boat insurance at great discounts.

There are recreational boat owners associations like Boat US that offer tips and other facilities to members. Always comparison shop this will give you great advantages. There are websites for buying boat insurance that have online tools that will give multiple quotes and well as easy comparison. Make use of such directories /platforms online and you will be able to get the best insurance coverage for your recreational boat.

Q. What should I look out for?

A. Everyone’s needs are different, and only you can decide if wider cover is important to you. It is essential though, to understand what is being offered to you, before being able to make an informed decision.

Third Party Liability – You should not consider going afloat without liability insurance, which will cover you if you cause damage to another boat or worse still cause injury. The industry standard provides a limit of £2,000,000 and should be sufficient to sail in the UK. Many Insurers now offer a policy providing £3,000,000 worth of cover.

Racing Risks – Most policies will provide cover for racing as standard, but some insurers may charge you an additional premium. If you race without paying the additional premium you may not be covered.

New-For-Old cover – This will replace damaged items with new, but check whether there is an age limit on your equipment. For instance if you were to break a ten year old mast, some companies would replace this with a new mast of equivalent specification, others would only pay out what they considered to be the mast’s value at the time of loss, leaving you to fund the difference.

Policy Excess – You will be required to pay the first £x of any claim.

Comprehensive Cover – will provide cover for your boat against accidental damage, theft, fire and vandalism.

Q. Do I need to use a specialist marine insurance company?

A. No – Many High Street Insurance Brokers will be able to arrange your insurance, but they may not have the necessary expertise to advise you correctly.

Q. How can I be sure the insurance company I choose is reliable?

A. Your policy is only as good as the service you receive if you have to submit a claim. Why not speak to your fellow sailors, for their comments regarding which insurers provide good (or bad) service to their clients.

With effect from 14th January 2005, it is a legal requirement that any company providing an insurance policy, must be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Q. Why do I need third party cover?

A. £2,000,000 Third Party Liability is usually compulsory if you are to sail in the UK and you should not consider sailing without this cover as a minimum. A policy providing third party liability, should cover you if you were to cause damage to property or injury to another person, with your boat.

Cover is normally provided for a named boat, and therefore another person sailing your boat, with your permission, would also be covered, however you must check your policy if you are unsure. It is unlikely that you are covered to sail any boat under this policy and if you are borrowing another boat, you should always check with a boat’s owner that you are insured to sail it.

Third party risks whilst in transit would be EXCLUDED as this is normally covered by your motor insurance policy.

Q. Should I expect a standard policy to cover me while I’m not sailing (ie, when my boat is sitting in the drive or while I’m travelling?)

A. Comprehensive policies should cover your boat against accidental damage, theft, fire and vandalism, whether in use or not; however there may be restrictions on your policy. Boats should be securely tied down, trailers locked and / or immobilised when not in use, and equipment stored beneath your cover or taken home after use, if possible. It is relatively common for mice, rats or other rodents to make nests in your sails if stored in your boat.

If they do, your sail will become eaten and stained. Not all insurance policies will cover this eventuality.

Q. Would my trolley and trailer be covered?

A. Most policies can be extended, by payment of an additional premium, to include these items. Claims would be limited to either the market value at the time of loss or the sum specified on the Policy Schedule whichever is the lesser amount. It may be a requirement of the policy that trailers are immobilised and / or locked when not in use.

Q. To what extend would my equipment be covered on a standard policy (ie, sails, spars etc)?

A. Some insurers will only pay claims based on a percentage of the new replacement cost of your mast spars or sails, dependant on its age, leaving you to fund the difference. Typically, insurance companies will only pay two thirds of the replacement price on equipment over three years old.

The dinghy insurance policy offered by Noble Marine will pay the full replacement cost of your mast, spars or sails, damaged beyond repair, irrespective of age. All you need to pay is your policy excess.

Q. Does it matter who is in charge of my boat?

A. The majority of insurance policies will allow anyone to sail your boat with your permission, however it would be prudent to check this first. If you receive money in return, i.e. the boat is being chartered or hired; this may invalidate your policy.

Q. What is legal protection?

A. Upon payment of an additional premium, some insurance policies can be extended to include legal representation if your boat is involved in a collision or other accident and you suffer financial loss or injury. If you are injured, it is even more important that you receive expert help so that any claim for damages is pursued quickly and efficiently.

Q. What about cover for sailing abroad?

A. This will vary, depending on the policy you have chosen. Always check with your insurance company before taking your boat abroad. Noble Marine’s clients automatically have cover for 30 days use in Europe each year. If your sailing takes you outside Europe for short periods of time, or your boat will be in Europe in excess of 30 days per annum, then it may be possible to extend the cover accordingly.

Q. What should I do in the event of a claim?

A. You should always submit your claim as soon as possible after an accident. After all, the faster you make the claim, the faster you can get back on the water.

Any incidences of theft or criminal damage should be reported to the police – remember that you’ll need the Crime Reference Number for the claim form.

You will be required to provide at least one estimate for the repairs, or a written quote for the replacement items if a repair is not possible. Your Insurer may ask to inspect any equipment damaged, before authorising its replacement.

Stolen boats should be listed by your insurance company, free of charge, on the new www.stolenboats.org.uk website.

Q. How quickly should I expect to have my claim sorted?

A. This will depend on which insurance company you use and their speed of response. It can also depend how quickly your repairer can provide a quotation and then carry out the necessary repairs. It is Noble Marine’s intention is to respond to you within two working days, advising how to proceed, so you’ll know exactly where you stand, and how soon you can expect to be back on the water.

All Dinghy Policies provided by Noble Marine include:

£3,000,000 Third party liability for anyone using your boat with your permission. No excess is payable on third party only claims.

Accidental damage, theft, fire and vandalism.

Damage to the boat (and your trolley and trailer if specified on the policy) whilst in transit, but excluding third party liability in transit, as this should be covered by your vehicle’s policy.

New for Old Cover – Your mast, boom, rigging and all sails are insured on a New-For-Old basis. If any of these items are lost, damaged beyond repair or stolen, we will pay the cost of new replacement item, less the policy excess. No deduction is made for depreciation.

Full cover for Racing

Comprehensive All Year Round Cover – 12 months cover for all inland and coastal waters of the U.K. and up to one month’s use in Europe. It may be possible, to extend this cover either for use outside Europe or for more than one month’s use within Europe.

Cover for sails damaged by vermin

Visit the insurance blog from A to Z at

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There are now many companies providing yacht insurance cover with confusion often resulting as owners seek to find the best provider for their needs. Each insurance provider wants to encompass elements that are not available elsewhere but at the same time each policy holder’s individual requirements also need to be met. This article includes some basic information which is often overlooked but can help in your decision when comparing yacht insurance costs.

Carry out a check on the financial stability of the company in question and try to look at their previous year’s submitted accounts. The financial stability of a yacht insurance provider speaks much about the security of your own insurance. Search the Internet for top rated insurers of marine vessels – those with large customer bases are often rated highly by the industry watchdogs and probably the best companies to start with.

There may come a time when you need to claim on your policy and you need to be assured that the customer services department will answer your claim quickly and efficiently. To help ensure this is the case search for a marine insurer that has many outlets. The outlets should include emergency services, agencies and helpful representatives. A good reputation is often a hard won thing and important to the business that has won it. How a company’s customer service representatives act (i.e. do they seek to uphold the company’s reputation) will give a potential customer an idea on how well they will be looked after should the need arise.

The type of yacht insurance policy required is based on the ability of a company to provide services at a reasonable cost; avoid those that promise everything at the lowest cost. Be aware that marine policies can be complex and will most likely take longer to assess than regular insurance policies. Each person will have specific ideas about what they want covered with their policy; do not use an insurance provider that only has limited options available.

Consider which aspects of yacht insurance are most important to you before doing anything else: researching the finer details of each policy is easier when you have already produced a smaller list of requirements. Carrying out these simple suggestions you should help you to more easily compare yacht insurers and yacht insurance costs. The last thing anyone needs after signing their policy is to find there’s a problem with their marine insurance company.

As boating becomes more popular, increasing numbers of companies are supplying boat insurance. Confusion is often a result as owners try to find the best provider for their needs. Because competition can be fierce, insurance providers like to include aspects other companies do not have; however, each policy holder’s individual requirements will need to be met. Detailed below are some pointers which you should consider.

The financial stability of the company is paramount and it is quite a simple process inspecting the previous year’s accounts, as boat insurance arranged with a company with a poor financial record will render it useless. The easiest way to do this is by locating marine insurers of marine vessels online. Start by trying those with a good customer base as this is usually a good sign.

You may at some point need to contact the company regarding a claim, therefore receiving a speedy response is the sign of a good customer relations department and one that should be efficient and understanding. Most insurers of marine vessels should have a strong list of claims centers which should include emergency services, agencies and helpful representatives to serve you in times that you need them the most. The more claim centers a marine insurance company has, the better; this will contain authorized and specialist repairers plus what emergency services can be provided should anything happen to your craft.

The company’s reputation should be good and well established. Most companies will attempt to arrange mutually beneficial settlements which should be reflected in any online testimonials. All policies have a number of options and variations to choose from but they should ideally meet your needs and not those of the insurance provider.

Find out from customers just what they think of their provider. Good ones do not want their reputation tarnished so look for companies that pride themselves on the service they provide to customers. There are usually a number of coverage options available with any type of policy; look for an insurance provider that can supply the options you require as this will save you having to make separate arrangements.

Search for a boat insurance policy without compromising on quality or service – try comparing and analyzing the price of different providers before you finally commit to anything. Marine policies are never straightforward, so finding the right policy will not be as simple as regular home cover, for example. These are the most important points to keep in mind when you search for any boat insurance provider.

Focus on the most important aspects to reduce the list of potential companies as it is considerably simpler to check individual policy benefits once this has been carried out. Sticking to the points mentioned here should help save time and hopefully, money, because the last thing needed after signing the policy is to find there’s a problem with the marine insurance company.

Having adequate and appropriate marine insurance can provide boat owners with a better outcome in the event of an accident and improve their peace of mind.

Most boaters realise marine insurance policies differ from what is available for a car.

Variations exist in the basic coverage provided by both types of policies and not knowing these distinctions could hurt your bottom line after a loss.

Marine insurance is composed of two broad categories, liability and physical damage coverage:

Liability Coverage – This insurance coverage pays the costs that might be due third parties for injury, loss of life or property damage. These would be people besides you or your immediate family injured in an accident. It will also cover legal expenses that might arise from defending an accident related lawsuit.

Physical Damage Coverage – This portion of your policy pays for the cost of damage to boat itself and its related machinery. Polices may limit payments due to weather or vandalism. Try to purchase an “all risk” policy that does not list specific exclusions to its coverage. Ensure your policy covers all the equipment found on the boat and insures it while being transported or stored at home.

Physical damage coverage can be settled on an agreed or actual cash value. The difference could have a major effect on your ability to replace a boat or major component.

Agreed Value – The policy will cover the cost listed in the insurance agreement for the boat after a total loss.

Actual Cash Value (ACV) – The policy pays only what the vessel is actually worth based on age and condition. This coverage will be less expensive, but provides less coverage for replacement or repair of a damaged boat.

These are several other insurance options available for boaters:

Medical Payments – Persons on-board are covered for their reasonable medical costs associated with the accidents or incidents on the insured vessel. Coverage can include things like ambulance fees and hospital charges. Some policies will cover costs associated with swimmers and skiers that use your boat.

Towing and Assistance – Coverage of emergency assist towing, emergency repairs, and providing fuel while out on the water.

Personal Property – Covers the loss of personal items that were on-board a boat involved in an accident. These could include things like cameras, cellular phones, fishing equipment, and clothing.

Uninsured Boater – This insurance covers the loss of your boat caused by a boater operating without liability insurance. The cost of this insurance is low compared to the risk, there are many boaters out there that don’t carry insurance.

Oil Pollution – The cost of responding to and cleaning up after a fuel or oil spill can be staggering. Many boaters don’t anticipate this issue until their vessel sinks and it causes a spill. Commercial vessels routinely carry this insurance and many recreational boaters have added it as well.

There are many things you can do to reduce the cost of insurance premiums.

Vessel Safety Checks – Obtaining one of these free inspections from the Coastal Guard Auxiliary is painless way to lower insurance premiums with many insurance carriers.

Training – Boat owners who complete boating safety programs can qualify for reduced premiums. Members

Layup and Storage – Risk and liability are a function of use. If you pull your boat every season, check with your agent and verify this is calculated in your premium.

Equipment – Some insurance carriers offer premium reductions for installation of safety devices like GPS navigation equipment, fire extinguishers, vapor detectors, EPIRBs, high water alarms and the like. Check with your agent for additional ideas.

Mooring – The condition and operation of the marina you moor in can help with the cost of insurance. Choosing the right marina also has environmental consequences.

Diesel Power – Diesel engines offer a number a safety benefits for boaters compared to gasoline powered boats. Use of a marine diesel engine could lower premiums.

Deductibles – Boat owners that can afford a higher deductible will see a difference in their premium. Marine policies can express deductibles as percentage of the policy value or a flat amount.

Final Thoughts – Vessels over 26 feet in length are considered yachts by many insurance carriers. It may be worth checking on the differences in coverage and cost by adopting one of these policies. Consult with a professional marine insurance broker if you have a larger vessel or unusual risks to consider. Boat insurance can vary much more from carrier to carrier than what we are accustomed to in the automotive realm. It pays to conduct research and compare policies and company qualifications.

Many homeowner’s policies cover boats while they parked at your house. Extra coverage may be available, but could likely not replace the coverage found in a marine policy. You can also take steps to make your boat a less attractive target.

If you are a contractor in any type of field, you understand that there are certain risks that you and your client undertake when performing the necessary work to accomplish the task at hand. These risks could be solely upon either party or involve each equally.

Each party involved needs to have that risk minimized so it will not interfere with their own business or even their personal lives. Contractors insurance provides this coverage to give you and your client the peace of mind that you both are seeking.

Contractors Insurance is a policy which is acquired by the contractor themselves. This policy covers and protects the contractor from any kind of liability which can occur while performing the course of the work. These types of insurance policies not only cover the contractor themselves but, they also cover any agents, employees, partners and the like from any kind of claims that may arise.

Depending on the type of policy which you will want to take out, the covered occurrences could include, fire, leaks, acts of God, war and terrorism, safety issues, etc. Before signing any policy, be sure to review every article within the policy to ensure that the liabilities you could incur are covered. Be sure to also exclude any type of liabilities that would not apply to your certain field. You wouldn’t want to purchase and pay for coverage which you will never need.

There is a multitude of professional fields that could benefit with the added protection of carrying some form of Contractors Insurance. Most of these fields are predominately grouped into the construction field. They would include roofers, electricians, plumbers, framers, architects, engineers, etc.

Other fields that could use a similar form of insurance would be computer technicians, designers, landscapers, any form of demolition contractors, any many more. To see if you could protect yourself with this kind of insurance, write down all of the circumstances that could go wrong during your normal course of project completion and consult with your insurance agent. They will have the final answers for you and be sure to bring up your concerns with them. Your agent might have a different kind of insurance that would be better suited to your specific needs.

There are five different options of insurance to consider when forming your policy. They are General Insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance, Inland Marine Insurance, Disability Insurance and Bonds. For your particular area, you may need one, two, three or even all of the available coverage’s.

Be careful to not waste your money on insurance options that you will not need. For example, if you do not transport goods such as a trucking company or other courier service, you would not want to spend the money on Inland Marine Insurance for that is what this type of insurance is for. However, if you have employees that are on your active payroll, you will not want to pass up the coverage for Workers Compensation Insurance coverage. Consult with your insurance agent to get the best coverage at the most reasonable price.

During these tough economic times, don’t think that you are making a wise financial decision by cancelling your boat insurance during the off-season. If you stop your marine insurance coverage in the low season, , you also may be missing out on potential savings and benefits that are only available to permanent boat insurance policy bearers.

Up to 15% of yacht insurance claims actually take place during the off season and ar typically for bigger amounts than during the regular season.

The Majority of Claims Take Place Off the Water

During the high season, most claims are crashes or mechanical problems. Winter claims are usually thefts, fires, vandalisms and weather related damages. Claims during the off season are normally more complex and the damages can be higher than during the summer.

Yacht owners can be made responsible for injuries to people in or in the vessel’s surroundings, even if they are there illegally or without permission. In this instance, liability coverage pays for injuries to other people or damage to their property. Skip the liability coverage and you could be paying for damages and the injured person’s medical bills out of your own pocket.

Marinas and Lenders Want you to have Boat Insurance

Besides risking serious financial consequences for uninsured claims, there is a practical case for maintaining boat insurance ongoing coverage. Your lender will probably require you to have insurance on your boat and have them as beneficiaries. .

Ongoing Insurance Will Save You Money

Similar to house, automobile and business insurance, ratings and premiums for boat insurance coverage are based on the previous twelve-month period. Depending on how many continuos claim free years they have, Harbour Insurance offers it’s clients discounts on their premiums.

These are some of the arguments in fvor of having year round marine insurance on your boat. For more information on the pros of year-round boat insurance coverage and tips on how you can save money, contact Harbour Insurance at 1-877-731-1224 and one of our marine insurance specialists will be happy to arrange a marine insurance policy that is custom designed for you and your boat.

Can you afford the luxury of leaving your business prospective prone to risks, and unattended? If on one side construction business is very lucrative, on the other, it is full of risks.

Apart from it, Construction contracting requires specific obligations and legal responsibilities. Any mistake on your part may land you in the danger zone of damage both to your balance sheet and reputation. Estimates show, claims made against construction contractors often lighten a party by significant amount. In such a situation, Construction contractor Insurance comes into rescue by safeguarding your business and its future. These policies are equally beneficial for all involved in construction contracting like independent contractors, builders and developers.

Construction contractor insurance falls in the genre of liability insurance. It helps your business when your mistakes cause financial or image damage to a third party and a compensation claim is filed at court of law. It covers the cost of defending you against the claim at court and includes attorney fees, investigation costs and other legal expenses. Along with it, you can also have a second layer of protection by taking Worker’s Compensation Insurance, Inland Marine Insurance, and Disability Insurance policies for your business and employees.

The premium, you have to pay for construction contractors insurance policies, varies from insurer to insurer. However, they are not extra burdens and fit to your pocket easily. Premium amount is decided by taking a number of factors into account like insurance amount, level and quality of risk, the annual turnover and employee strength of your company and the past track record of workplace accidents or illnesses in the company.

Going for a reputed insurer helps a lot in getting a best deal on construction contractor insurance policies. You can buy these insurance policies in both online and offline way. However, online purchase saves a lot of time and money.

The concept of insurance is increasingly gaining popularity even in India, though instead of being seen as a protection shield, its being seen as an investment. Insurance can be considered as a promise of reimbursement for specific potential future losses for a periodic payment between the insurer and the insured.

How important is insurance really? An insurance product is designed such as to protect the life and/or the property of an individual, company or other entity from losses under unforeseen circumstances.

It would not be incorrect to say that the concept of insurance is as old as that of human societies. In the ancient times, if an individual’s house burned down, the other members of the community helped build a new one by contributing the necessary resources.

In as early as 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the Chinese and the Babylonian traders’ practiced methods of risk transfer. The Chinese were known to redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due if a ship sunk when traveling through treacherous river rapids.

Insurance was practiced by Babylonians in form of a system, the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC and the by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant took a loan to fund his shipment, he would also pay the lender an extra sum in exchange for the lender’s guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen.

The concept of insurance was also popular among the Iranian Achaemenian monarchs of Iran who were pioneers in insuring their people. They went an extra step by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. Insurance was almost ceremonial and was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year). The heads of different ethnic groups, as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.

People in Rhodes came up with the concept of the ‘general average’. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage.

Life insurance and health insurance have been around since 600 AD when the Greeks and Romans who organized guilds called “benevolent societies” that took care of families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. In the late 17th century England, “friendly societies” existed where people donated funds to be used for emergencies. This was much before the concept of insurance was formally brought in place.

It was in 14th century in Genoa that came up the concept of separate insurance contracts which were not bundled with loans. The insurance pools were backed by mortgage of property.

The end of the 17th century, the concept of marine insurance existed in a concrete form.

The modern day concept of insurance has its origin in the Great Fire of London, 1666 which destroyed 13,200 houses. This lead to the establishment of England’s first fire insurance company, “The Fire Office,” to insure brick and frame homes by Nicholas Barbon in 1680.

The first Insurance Company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732. Benjamin Franklin popularized the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Insurance has come a long way today

I have explained in previous articles, that if something goes wrong with your export or import shipment and it is lost or damaged during the international transport movement, you are unlikely to be eligible to receive the full value of the goods from your carrier. The freight company will normally only pay compensation if they have been proven to be at fault. In addition, their liability to pay compensation is limited according to International conventions (for example the CMR Convention for road freight) and their standard trading conditions.

The best way to make sure that you can recover the actual value of the goods damaged or lost whilst they are being transported is to arrange specialist ‘goods in transit’ insurance. As with house and buildings insurance, you pay a premium and this will enable you to make a claim when you need to.

It’s easy enough to find insurance for your house and contents – we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements advising us to use comparison websites to get the best deal for all our personal insurance requirements. However, it’s not so easy with ‘goods in transit’ insurance; in order to obtain the best kind of cover for your particular requirements, you need to find a broker who specialises in this type of insurance.

But this may not be a worthwhile option if you only have a small number of international shipments per year, or if you simply do not have time to do the research. That is when your freight forwarder can help you.

Many reputable shipping companies are able to offer ‘goods in transit’ insurance on a ‘per shipment’ basis using their own open cover policy. This usually means that you pay a small premium. The premium is based on the CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight) value of the goods and the risk profile of the geographical locations relevant to the movement. The CIF value is made up of the value of the goods, plus the freight plus ten per cent.

The shipping company can quote you for this when they give you a price for the freight movement. The Freight company will issue you with a Certificate of Insurance, which you will have to produce should you to need to make a claim. When marine insurance cover has been taken out, the cargo owner only needs to have evidence of loss to make a claim, whereas to make a liability claim against the carrier it must be proven that the carrier was at fault.

You will need to confirm your instruction to insure in writing prior to the import or export shipment commencing, but this can easily be done by email.

To summarise, it’s always advisable to ask shipping companies to quote for goods in transit insurance if you do not have your own annual goods in transit policy. In that way, you can claim for the full value of the goods and the value of the freight invoice if the goods have been lost, rather than settling for limited liability compensation.