If your business is in an expansion mode, it is the right time to buy a marine insurance policy that can protect your goods while being transported by road, rail, air, or sea. There is a separate cover for the losses or damages caused to cargo, ships, freight, and inland transit.
As compared to other insurance policies, marine insurance policies are unique as they are subject to a unique set of laws governed by international regulations and limit carriers’ liability. Here are some facts about marine insurance that you may not know earlier, and these will help you know the importance of the policy:
- Accidents are unavoidable – With changing times, new means of transportation and sea routes being discovered have made it easy to transport goods or services within India and abroad more efficiently than ever. However, you can’t rule out the possibility of accidents as there are various reasons why your freight could be damaged in transit. Like, piracy of ships has increased over the years, and you can’t give a guarantee that there will be no accident or theft of goods. Therefore, it makes complete sense to go with marine insurance to get protection if there is a loss or damage.
- The underwriting process is simple – Many commercial insurance policies are subject to a strict underwriting process; however, the marine insurance policy doesn’t include rigid guidelines on what is required. As a result, most of the marine insurance plans are offered as all-risk plans and customized as per your preferences.
- All accidents/events are not covered – A common mistake while buying marine insurance is to assume that the insurance policy will automatically cover every accident and event. However, this is not necessarily the case. Instead, most marine insurance policies have laid out a specific set of situations or events which are not covered, like willful negligence or misconduct, ordinary leakage, or loss in weight of goods, use of inappropriate packaging material, etc. Some insurance companies also offer global marine insurance policies to cover a wide range of risks. The perils covered under such policies range from safeguarding single vessels to complex multinational businesses. Suppose you are a car manufacturer with subsidiaries in various parts of the world; you would require a global marine insurance policy to ensure safe transportation. It is strongly advised to carefully read your marine insurance policy document to know what is covered and not.
- The insurance can be purchased for cargo ships – If you have cargo ships, you can buy marine hull insurance, which is part of marine insurance. The purpose of this insurance is to safeguard the ship and machinery & equipment from unexpected perils. The policy can be bought by all kinds of vessels navigating in the permissible water body. Though, when you use bigger vessels, you get economies of scale. Also, it increases the risk or losses as well. Therefore, wherever there is the use of bigger boats and vessels, it is useful to go with cargo ships’ insurance.
- Coverage is available to include the cost of emergency storage. You would require emergency storage if there are unexpected situations like natural disasters, riots, or terrorist activities that can safely prevent the cargo from reaching the destination. In such a case, there are special covers available which you can avail to bear the cost associated with the emergency storage.
- It can be purchased online – In today’s internet-driven world, many insurance companies also offer you an option to buy marine insurance online as well. It means you can buy the policy as per your requirements from the comfort of your home in a few mouse clicks. You can also take the help of corporate insurance advisors like SecureNow, which can help you compare and choose the best marine insurance policy according to your business requirements.READ MORE ARTICLES :
Overall, marine insurance policy enjoys an indispensable place in marine contracts. Even though marine transport has become safer than ever, losses are inevitable. Some insurers have resorted to the use of telematics to control the alarming trend of theft or loss. With telematics’ help, it becomes easy to track goods during transit and ensures that the carrier doesn’t deviate from its route. It means, if God forbid, highway robbers and miscreants attack your vehicle, and you have marine insurance, the insurer will be able to find it out, and immediate help will reach you. The remote monitoring instills fear among thieves and hijackers of being caught later. So, it is strongly advised to go with a comprehensive marine insurance policy, which assures you to shield you if something goes awry.