Cargo Insurance: What Can a Forwarding Firm Do If Your Shipment Is Damaged?

If Your Cargo Is Damaged, Who Pays?

The answer is often not as straightforward as you'd expect. Carrier liability is limited: CMR (road), Hague-Visby (sea), Montreal Convention (air) — each mode has different compensation caps, and these caps are usually far below the actual cargo value.

Concrete example: under CMR, maximum road freight compensation is around 8.33 SDR per kg. If you're shipping high-value electronics, damage compensation could be a fraction of the actual goods value.

What Does Cargo Insurance Cover?

• Total loss from road accident, shipwreck or air crash
• Fire, water damage, theft
• Mechanical damage during loading/unloading
• Natural disaster losses

Where Does a Forwarding Firm Fit Into Insurance?

Identifies your insurance needs, coordinates policy arrangements, handles damage notifications, and manages correspondence with the insurer — handling both the logistics and legal aspects simultaneously.

What Does Insurance Cost?

Premium rates typically range from 0.1% to 0.5% of cargo value. When you weigh this cost against the risk of going uninsured, the choice usually becomes clear.

Insured Shipping with KEY Forwarding

We ensure every shipment is protected in proportion to its value. Contact our representatives for insurance options and policy details.