Goods in transit insurance quotes from licensed Australian brokers

What goods in transit covers

The policy responds to loss of or damage to goods while they are in transit, and usually while they are being loaded and unloaded. Cover can be arranged for your own vehicles, for goods sent by third party carriers, or both.

• Stock, materials, equipment and tools while being transported
• Loading and unloading, which is where a good share of damage happens
• Goods carried in your own vehicles and goods sent with carriers
• Temporary storage during a journey, subject to time limits
• Cover per vehicle or per sending, depending on how the policy is written
• Options for refrigerated goods, exhibitions and interstate movements

Sending goods with a carrier does not make them the carrier's problem

This is the misconception that costs businesses money. Most carriers trade under conditions that sharply limit their liability, often to a nominal amount per consignment or per kilogram, and many exclude liability altogether unless you have paid for an additional service. So when a pallet is destroyed in a carrier's yard, the recovery you get may be a fraction of what the goods were worth. Insuring the goods yourself is generally simpler and cheaper than fighting over carriage conditions after the event.

Carriers need a different policy

If you are the one doing the carrying for other people, this is not the policy you need. Carriers liability responds where you are legally liable for loss or damage to a customer's goods in your care. Goods in transit covers your own property. Businesses that do both, moving their own stock and carrying for customers, often need both covers, and the boundary should be drawn explicitly rather than assumed.

What affects the price

The type of goods leads. Electronics, tobacco, alcohol, copper and pharmaceuticals attract theft attention and are priced accordingly, while bulk building materials are far less exciting to a thief. After that comes the annual value carried, the maximum value on any one vehicle or sending, the routes and distances, and whether vehicles are left loaded overnight. Overnight security conditions are common, and failing one is a frequent reason claims get declined.