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Trade Finance & Payment

Marine Cargo Insurance

Also known as: Cargo Insurance, Marine Insurance

Marine cargo insurance protects the owner of goods against physical loss or damage while they are in transit by sea, and usually by the connecting land and air legs of an international journey as well. Coverage ranges from narrow, named-peril policies to broad 'all risks' cover, and the point at which risk — and therefore the need for insurance — passes between buyer and seller is fixed by the Incoterm agreed in the sale. Because ocean transport exposes cargo to storms, handling damage, theft, and general average claims, prudent traders insure shipments to the full value plus a margin, ensuring that a loss at sea does not become a total financial loss.

The JFS takeLicensed customs broker · Filer 82G

Buy your own, and buy it on terms you have read. Carrier liability is limited by convention to figures that bear no relation to cargo value, and cover bought by a seller under CIF is minimum-level and arranged by someone whose interest ended at the origin port.

Where it matters for compliance

  • Insurance is not dutiable on a U.S. entry, but where a CIF price includes it, it must be identified to be deducted.

Related terms

CIFUnder Cost, Insurance and Freight the seller pays the cost of the goods, contracts and pays for ocean freight to the named destination port, and procures a minimum level of marine cargo insurance for the buyer's benefit.IncotermsIncoterms are a standardized set of three-letter trade terms published and periodically revised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that spell out the respective obligations of buyers and sellers in a cross-border sale of goods.Bill of LadingA bill of lading is the foundational document of ocean freight, issued by a carrier to a shipper, that serves three distinct functions at once: a receipt confirming the carrier has taken the described goods into its custody, evidence of the contract of carriage setting out the terms of transport, and — when issued in negotiable form — a document of title whose holder controls delivery of the cargo.

Reviewed by a licensed customs broker. Definitions are general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment. Duty rates, tariff programs and agency requirements change frequently.