Marine Cargo Insurance for Freight Operators
Cover for freight you own and freight you carry for others, by road, rail, sea and air.
Marine cargo cover pays for the goods. Carriers cargo liability covers what you owe when someone else's freight is damaged in your care.
Marine Cargo Insurance Pays for the Load Itself
A lot of operators assume the freight on the truck is covered by their motor policy, or by the customer's insurance. Neither is a safe assumption.
Say a consignment is damaged in a rollover, stolen off a dock or ruined because a reefer failed. Two questions come up straight away: who pays for the goods, and who is legally responsible for them?
We arrange marine cargo insurance for the value of consignments moving overseas by sea and air, and it can cover the road and rail legs at either end. We also arrange carriers cargo liability, which covers your legal responsibility when you move someone else's goods. If your own goods only move by road inside Australia, goods in transit insurance is usually the better fit.
Paul Cohalan founded All Trucks Insurance. Every broker on the team specialises in transport, so they know where freight gets damaged as well as what the policy says.
Get the Right Marine Cargo Cover With Paul
“The truck is insured, the trailer is insured, and then the load worth more than both of them is riding on an assumption. Cargo cover is where that assumption gets closed.”
Paul Cohalan
Founding Principal Broker
Call Paul on 1300 78 78 25Backed by Australia's Leading Marine & Transport Insurers
We arrange marine cargo insurance with insurers that know freight, under a brokerage licence backed by Steadfast.
Road, rail, sea & air
freight covered in transit across every mode your consignments move through, door to door.
Goods + liability
the value of your cargo, and your carriers liability for other people's goods in your care.
Specialist insurers
marine and transport insurers that know how freight moves and where it gets damaged.
Your Goods, or Your Liability for Other People's Goods
There are two kinds of cargo cover. Which one you need depends on whose freight it is, and plenty of operators need both.
Marine Cargo & Goods in Transit
Covers the value of the freight
- For freight you own, or have agreed to insure for a customer
- Covers road, rail, sea, air and storage in transit
- All-risks cover, which takes in theft, collision, fire, water and handling damage
Carriers Cargo Liability
Covers your legal responsibility
- Protects you when you are carrying someone else's goods
- Essential for hire-and-reward carriers and freight forwarders
- Set up to match your carriage contracts and consignment terms
Who Needs Marine Cargo Insurance
If you move freight, store it or answer for it on someone else's behalf, you need cargo cover. Each business is set up on its own, around what it moves and how it moves it.
Hire-and-Reward Carriers
Operators carrying other people's freight for payment, where your liability for the load is set by contract.
Owner-Drivers & Subcontractors
Owner-operators moving consignments under contract, who carry the risk for the load on every trip.
Freight Forwarders
Businesses arranging transport across modes and carriers, who can be liable at any point along the chain.
Couriers & Last-Mile
High-volume parcel and pallet work with many drops a day, where small losses on valuable items add up.
Refrigerated Transport
Reefer operators carrying perishable freight, where one temperature failure can ruin the whole load.
Importers & Exporters
Businesses moving goods internationally by sea and air who need marine cargo cover from door to door.
Warehousing & 3PL
Operators holding and moving client stock, who are responsible for it in storage and on the road.
High-Value & Specialised Loads
Machinery, project cargo, dangerous goods and oversized freight, which generalist policies often get wrong.
Don't See Your Business Here?
Tell us what you move and how it travels, and we will set up the cover.
What Marine Cargo Insurance Can Include
Most freight businesses need a few of these. These are the ones we arrange most often.
Marine Cargo & Goods in Transit
All-risks cover for physical loss or damage to the freight itself, by road, rail, sea, air and storage in transit.
Carriers Cargo Liability
Your legal liability for loss or damage to customers' goods while they are in your care, custody and control.
Refrigerated & Temperature-Sensitive
Cover for perishable and temperature-controlled freight, including loss from refrigeration breakdown in transit.
High-Value & Project Cargo
Machinery, project freight, dangerous goods and oversized loads that need cover built around the consignment.
Loading, Unloading & Handling
Damage that happens during loading, restraint and unloading, which is where a lot of freight loss happens.
Storage & Transit Combined
Cover that follows the goods through warehousing and short-term storage as part of the same journey.
All-Risks Physical Loss or Damage
Theft, collision, fire, water and accidental damage to the consignment, set up around the freight you carry.
Freight Forwarder & Multi-Modal
Cover across carriers and modes for freight forwarders who are responsible for the goods along the whole chain.
We also arrange one-off cover for a single high-value movement. Contingent cover is there for when the other party was meant to insure the goods and their cover falls through.
Where Marine Cargo Insurance Claims Go Wrong
These are the assumptions we see turn a damaged load into an uninsured loss, and what to do about each one.
Assuming Motor Cover Pays for the Load
Motor cover protects the truck and trailer, and it does not pay for the freight on them. Without cargo cover, a damaged load is a bill the business pays itself, so insure the load.
Relying on the Customer's Insurance
Operators often assume the goods owner has it covered. If you are legally liable as the carrier, the customer can still come to you, so carry carriers cargo liability of your own.
Undervaluing the Consignment
Cargo limits set years ago do not reflect today's freight values or one high-value load. If the limit is too low, the shortfall is yours, so check it against your biggest load.
Ignoring Refrigeration Breakdown
A reefer failure can ruin a whole perishable load with no collision at all. Without cover for refrigeration breakdown, that is a total loss, so have it named on the policy.
Missing the Loading and Unloading Window
A lot of freight is damaged while it is loaded, restrained or unloaded, before it is on the road. Some policies only respond in transit, so check how yours defines transit.
Carriage Terms That Do Not Match the Cover
If your consignment notes and contracts say one thing and your liability cover says another, the gap shows up at claim time. We set the cover up to match how you contract.
How We Arrange Your Marine Cargo Insurance
We start with the freight you carry and how you contract, and only then talk about price.
1. Understand Your Freight
What you carry, who owns it, what it is worth, how it moves, the routes and how you contract with customers.
2. Find Where It Is at Risk
We work out where the goods are most at risk, in transit, loading, storage or refrigeration, and where liability sits.
3. Arrange the Right Cover
We arrange marine cargo, goods in transit and carriers liability with the specialist insurers that know freight.
4. Renewals, Claims & Ongoing
We keep limits current as freight values change, fight the claims and adjust the cover as your work changes.
What Shapes Your Marine Cargo Insurance Premium
There is no flat rate for cargo cover. Your premium depends on the freight, its value and the way you move it. A broker who understands that can explain your business to the insurer in the best light.
We do not put a price on a website. Tell us about your freight and how it moves, and we will take it to the insurers and come back to you with a quote.
- The type and value of the freight you carry
- Whether you need goods cover, carriers liability or both
- Modes of transport: road, rail, sea or air
- Routes, distances and storage in transit
- Refrigerated and temperature-sensitive loads
- Claims history and how freight is handled and restrained
- Your carriage contracts and consignment terms
- The security and tracking you use in transit
Related Cover
Most operators need more than one policy. Here are the covers they usually add.
Get Your Marine Cargo Insurance Sorted
Whether you import, export or forward freight, get your marine cargo insurance arranged by a broker who knows how freight moves. We also deal with the insurer for you when you claim.
Tell us what you move, how it travels and how you contract, and we will come back to you with a quote.
Marine Cargo Insurance FAQs
Marine cargo insurance covers loss or damage to freight moving by sea, air, road and rail, for goods you own or have agreed to insure. Carriers cargo liability is the related cover for your legal liability for customers' goods in your care. The right set-up depends on whether you own the freight, carry it for others, or both.
No. Comprehensive motor cover protects the truck and trailer, not the goods on board. Marine cargo or goods in transit covers the value of the freight, and carriers cargo liability covers you when you carry someone else's goods.
Marine cargo covers the value of the consignment itself, for goods you own or have agreed to insure, across sea, air and road. Carriers cargo liability covers your legal responsibility when someone else's goods are lost or damaged in your care. Importers and forwarders commonly carry both.
If your own goods only move by road inside Australia, goods in transit insurance is usually the better fit.
If you are the carrier and you are legally liable for the goods, your customer's cover does not take that risk off you. They can still pursue you for the loss. Carriers cargo liability protects you in that situation, whatever the goods owner has arranged.
It can. We arrange cover for perishable and temperature-sensitive freight, including loss from refrigeration breakdown in transit, a common and expensive risk for reefer operators.
Yes. Marine cargo cover can follow your goods door to door across sea, air and road. Importers, exporters and freight forwarders moving consignments overseas need exactly that.
Carriers cargo liability covers a transport operator's legal liability for loss or damage to customers' goods while they are in the operator's care. It is essential cover for hire-and-reward carriers and freight forwarders.
There is no flat rate. Premiums depend on the freight and its value, the covers you need, the modes and routes, refrigeration, claims history and your carriage terms. We work through those with you and take them to the insurers, rather than putting a number on a website.
Yes. We arrange cover for machinery, project freight, dangerous goods and oversized loads, set up around the specific consignment and movement rather than a generic limit.
We arrange it with Australia's marine and transport insurers, including NTI, Global Transport (Allianz), HMIA, Zurich, QBE and UAA. We do this under a brokerage licence backed by Steadfast.
Compliance Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Please consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision.