# Cargo Insurance

> Protect your cargo door to door on international lanes: coverage against damage, theft and loss, per-shipment or annual policies, and full claims management.

Source: https://www.freightspot.com/en/solutions/additional-services/seguro-de-mercancias · Publisher: FreightSpot

The carrier’s legal liability covers a fraction of your cargo’s real value. The difference — almost all of it — is covered by this policy, or absorbed by you.

## What we do

There’s a dangerous assumption in international trade: “if something happens, the carrier pays.” In reality, international conventions cap carrier liability at amounts per kilo or per package that rarely come close to the real value of the goods. Without your own coverage, a container overboard, a highway theft or handling damage is a direct loss to your company.

We place your cargo with insurers specialized in international trade, covered door to door: from the factory of origin to your warehouse, transshipments and inland legs included. And because we also run your shipment, when there’s a claim you’re not left alone with the insurer: we build the file and push the claim through.

## When you need it

- The value of your shipments makes a total loss a serious hit to cash flow
- Your route includes transshipments or road legs with a history of theft
- Your bank, your customer or your contract requires the cargo to be insured
- You import frequently and still insure shipment by shipment — or worse, not at all

## Benefits

- Coverage on the cargo’s real value, not the carrier’s legal cap
- Door-to-door protection: factory of origin to your warehouse, transshipments included
- Per-shipment policies for one-off moves, or an open annual policy if you ship often
- We build the claim ourselves: evidence, formal protest and follow-through to payout

## How it works

1. **We assess the cargo and the route** — Type of goods, value, packaging and the full journey — the right coverage and its cost depend on it.
2. **We quote with specialists** — We work with insurers focused on international cargo, comparing real coverage — not just the premium.
3. **We issue before shipment** — Your cargo travels covered from origin. If you ship regularly, we structure an annual policy that covers everything automatically.
4. **We manage the claim** — Protest filed on time, evidence, the full file and follow-through with the insurer until the payout.

## What you get

Your cargo covered at its real value, door to door — per-shipment or annual policy to match your operation, claims management included if anything happens.

## Frequently asked questions

### If I buy on CIF terms, isn’t my cargo already insured?

Yes — but probably for less than you think. Under CIF the seller only has to buy minimum cover (Institute Cargo Clauses C), which responds to major casualties and leaves out much of the partial damage and theft that actually happens. It usually ends at the destination port, not at your warehouse. And the policy was bought by your supplier, from an insurer they chose. That is exactly why many importers buy FOB, or top up with a policy of their own.

### Why isn’t the carrier’s liability enough?

Because international conventions cap it at an amount per kilo or per package — the Hague-Visby Rules at sea, the Montreal Convention by air — that rarely comes close to the commercial value of the goods. You also have to prove the carrier was at fault: in general average, force majeure or heavy weather, it does not pay. Your own policy covers the real value without that fight.

### What value should the cargo be insured for?

Industry practice is the value of the goods plus freight, with an extra margin — typically 10% — to absorb the costs that are also lost in a claim. Insuring the invoice value alone is the most common mistake: if the cargo is lost, the freight and charges you already paid are not coming back either.

### What should I do if my goods arrive damaged?

Three things, quickly. Note the exception on the delivery receipt before you sign for the goods. Photograph the cargo, the packaging and the container or truck, and throw nothing away. And call us right away: the deadlines for filing notice with the carrier are short — a matter of days — and a claim without timely notice starts out weak. From there, we build the file and follow it through with the insurer.

---

Need to move cargo or sort out a filing? [Contact FreightSpot](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) · Tel. +52 55 5351-8362 · hello@freightspot.com