Insurance for marine and logistics operators
Freight forwarders, customs brokers, warehouse operators and vessel owners are responsible for goods and craft they do not own. The cover has to match the contracts, the bills of lading and the water the vessel works on.
The goods, the vessel and the liability in between
Marine Cargo
Goods in transit by sea, air and road, for your own stock or for the customers you carry for, from loading to delivery, including transhipment and storage in transit.
Marine Cargo coverMarine Hull
Physical damage to commercial vessels, workboats and charter craft, with machinery, third party liability and the crew and passengers on board.
Marine Hull coverPublic & Products Liability
Warehousing, packing and handling liability, plus injury and property damage on the wharf, in the yard and at customer premises.
Liability coverThe contract decides who carries the loss, and it is rarely the one who expects to
Marine claims turn on paperwork: trading conditions, terms of sale and navigation limits.
Conditions of trade
Freight forwarders and warehouse operators limit their liability through their trading conditions. If the conditions were never signed, or the policy does not mirror them, the limit falls away.
Terms of sale
Who insures the goods changes with the terms of sale. A shipment sold FOB is the buyer's risk from the ship's rail, and many importers only learn this when a container is lost.
Navigation limits
Hull policies set the waters a vessel may work in and the conditions it may work under. A charter outside those limits is uninsured, however experienced the skipper.
A shipment written off in a swell
An illustrative example of how Ardent can make the difference in a time of need.
A container took water on a rough voyage and the contents were unsaleable on arrival. The carrier's liability under the bill of lading was limited by weight, not by value.
We had the client on an annual marine cargo policy rather than per-shipment declarations, so the goods were covered from the moment they left the supplier.
The client was paid the insured value, including freight and duty, within weeks. The insurer pursued the carrier separately.
Responds under Marine Cargo
This is an illustrative example. Every claim is assessed by the insurer on its own facts and under the terms of the policy.
What insurers expect to see
Marine covers are rated on the cargo values, the vessels and the trading conditions you operate under. We go through them with you each year so the policy follows the contracts.
- Trading conditions current, signed by customers and matched by the liability wording
- Annual cargo turnover and the largest single shipment declared at current levels
- Vessels listed with survey dates, navigation limits and the use they are put to
- Storage locations and the goods held in them named on the policy
- Customs and quarantine liabilities covered where you act as broker
- Subcontracted carriers and their insurance checked
Our Marine & Logistics experts
QPIB · Dip. Fin. Serv. (Ins Broking) · ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP
Mining, aviation, construction, retail and property
Steve has 40 years in insurance, most of it in construction and civil engineering, with underground mining, aviation, national retail and property development alongside. He is one of Ardent's founders, works from inside a client's business and keeps those relationships for the long term.
QPIB · Dip. Fin. Serv. (Ins Broking) · Dip. Integrated Risk Management · ANZIIF (Snr Assoc) CIP
Risk management and program design
Stephen co-founded Ardent and has 17 years in insurance, with clients from sole traders to multinational corporates. He works through the risks a business faces and helps decide what to avoid, reduce, retain or insure, balancing cover against cost. He has served on the committee of NIBA's NSW Mentoring Program.
Cyber, property, motor fleet and technology
Kye has two and a half years in insurance broking, after working in retail management, and is studying for his diploma in insurance broking. He looks after a general book of clients, with a focus on cyber, property, motor fleet and technology. Clients find him thorough, efficient and understanding.
What a client says about Ardent
The team is efficient and connected with insurance companies to get the best offer. Also very reliable and act with speed. The are great brokers.