Marine Insurance, also known as Transit Insurance, provides cover for cargo/goods in transit, pleasure craft, commercial vessels and marine liabilities.
It provides cover for goods being transported within Australia or imports/exports to and from overseas countries. This cover not only protects the stock whilst in transit either to or from Australia, and from time of collection until it is delivered. A widely unknown benefit is that it also protects you from a potential liability claim in the event the cargo, not belonging to you, and even the ship itself, is lost or damaged at sea as you can be levied with a bill for a proportion of these losses too!
Cover can be arranged for transport and freight companies that move or arrange to move the goods, or for purchasers or sellers of the goods being transported. Transit may be by road/rail/air or sea.
It makes a lot more sense to organise cover from Australia as in the event of a claim, it is much easier to obtain settlement with a local insurer rather than rely upon your supplier’s insurer who is based overseas.
Another widely under appreciated fact is that many local transport companies will not compensate you in the event your product is damaged or lost whilst in transit, as they operate on the basis of “all care but no responsibility.”
Given that this is one of the cheapest forms of insurance cover available, it makes no sense to leave yourself unprotected in this area.
The most economical way to organise this type of insurance is on an annual basis however cover for a single trip can also be organised including household removals.