MARINE INSURANCE AND THE CARGO CLAUSES

What do you think provides coverage against any mishappening to a cargo vessel, a ship, terminals, and many more things that are meant to function on the sea? Well yes, marine insurance covers that up for you which is your shield against future loss if you work on water, the riskiest medium in transportation! 

For assured coverage against damages during transit including international transactions, there are Marine Cargo Insurance Policies. Here, the 3 main types of Marine Cargo Insurance Policies are discussed which differ based on the amount of risk.

INSTITUTE CARGO CLAUSES (A)

Also called All Risks Cargo Insurance Policy, covers the maximum risks with a certain set of conditions applied and a few are listed here:-

• the loss is not imputable to the willful delinquency of the assured,
• It is not a normal day-to-day loss of the subject matter insured,
• the damage is not due to the known insufficient preparation of the subject matter,
• the expense is not caused by delay, even when the delay happened due to a risk insured against,
• loss as a result of any liquidation from the workers working on the subject matter is not considered.

INSTITUTE CARGO CLAUSE (B)

It provides medium coverage marine cargo insurance policy to the marine risks covering damages of the subject matter against any fire or explosion, sinking, derailment, collision, uncontrolled cargo discharge, consequences of climatic disruptions, and natural calamities.

INSTITUTE CARGO CLAUSE (C) 

It covers a limited set of risks providing the minimum coverage out of the three cargo clauses, mainly against the losses from accidents including fire explosions, sinking, general average sacrifice, jettison, and a number of more possible mishaps. 

PROCEDURE TO CLAIM MARINE INSURANCE 

1. With a proper set of details about the damage caused to the subject matter, reach out to the insurer or the concerned insurance broker. They will check the required safety measures and proceed with the claim. Once the claim is placed, collect the acknowledgment letter from the concerned authorities.
2. Along with this, get connected to the shipping company as well with the concerned details.
3. The insurance company usually assigns a surveyor to investigate the incident giving an assessment containing a detailed survey report. Further proceedings are based on this report.
4. Important documents which include the Original marine insurance policy/certificate, Copy of bill of lading (details of shipment like type, a number of goods, etc.), Survey report and findings made on site, Commercial invoice, and packing list along with weight notes and shipping specifications, Copies of all the correspondence exchanged with the insurance company and shipping company and additional documents including Consignment note, Container damage report, Vessel outrun report, Tally sheets, FIR copy in case of theft, must be kept handy makes the process easier.