Carriers Insurance

Carriers legal liability responds when you are held legally liable for loss of or damage to a customer’s cargo in your care, custody and control, for example through negligence or breach of contract. Because it depends on fault, it may not pay if the damage was caused by an act of God or by another driver when yours was not at fault. Goods in transit cover protects the cargo itself and can respond to accidental damage regardless of who caused it.

Standard conditions of carriage are the terms on your consignment notes that limit your maximum liability for damaged freight. Without them, a carrier can face unlimited liability under common law bailment, so insurers often make approved conditions of carriage a requirement of the policy.

• Limit of indemnity: the most the insurer will pay for a single incident, whatever the load is worth. Check it against your highest-value loads.
• Sub-contractors: standard policies generally exclude them unless the policy is extended to principals, sub-contractors and nominated drivers.
• Standard exclusions: faulty packaging by the consignor, and consequential losses such as a customer’s lost profits after a delay.
• Special cargo: refrigerated goods need a specific extension, and dangerous goods must be declared to the underwriter.

After an accident, insurers may check weighbridge logs, telematics and police reports for overloading. For heavy vehicle rules, visit the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. If you also arrange freight for clients, see freight forwarders liability insurance. To report an incident, use our claims page or call 1800 656 836.

If you are paid to move other people’s goods, yes. Many customers and principal contractors require their carriers and subcontractors to hold cover before they hand over freight. We can arrange carriers insurance for single-vehicle operators as well as larger fleets.

It is a document confirming your policy is in force, with the policy period and limits. Customers and head contractors ask for it before engaging a carrier or subcontractor. Once your policy is placed, we can issue one on request.

Set your limit for any one load or vehicle to cover your highest-value regular load. If you occasionally carry something more valuable, tell us before the trip so the cover can be increased for that load.

The types of goods you carry, your maximum load value, the number and type of vehicles, the areas you operate in, your annual freight revenue, the conditions of carriage you use, and your claims history.

Often, yes. If your customer’s transit insurer pays for goods lost or damaged in your care, that insurer may seek to recover the amount from you, a process known as subrogation. Carriers insurance is designed to respond to your legal liability for freight you are paid to transport, subject to the policy terms and conditions. Your conditions of carriage also affect your liability, so tell us which ones you use.