Looking for Goods in Transit Insurance?
Particularly helpful for couriers or haulers, goods in transit insurance can be an important part of your business, especially if you deal with transporting cargo to and from the public, suppliers or other businesses.
Goods in transit insurance usually only covers the actual cargo that you’re delivering, not the van or vehicle which you’ll need a separate policy for. Whether your cargo is lost, damaged or stolen, you can be protected by a policy that can help you to recover the cost of the consignment should anything happen to it.
Who needs a goods in transit insurance policy?
If you’re transporting goods from one destination to the other while working as a courier or part of the haulage industry, then you may want to take out a goods in transit policy for yourself or your fleet. You can be covered for goods you’ve been hired to transport, house contents or office equipment being moved or stock being taken to customers. These types of company are usually:
What’s covered under goods in transit insurance?
Although it differs between insurance suppliers, generally a goods in transit insurance policy will cover you against:
The right kind of goods in transit insurance policy for you will need to take into account the size, age and specifications of the vehicle (or fleet) that you use whether it’s vans, motorcycles or cars, as well as the estimated daily mileage.
Keeping goods in transit insurance premiums down
You might be wondering if it’s worth taking out the insurance as it’s not mandatory by law, but if you’re frequently driving goods for customers then it might become very expensive to cover the cost of lost, stolen or damaged goods as well as bearing the brunt of legal costs too. Monthly premiums don’t have to cost the earth, and there are a few things you can do to keep your goods in transit insurance payments down.
Goods in Transit Insurance – Useful FAQs
Quite possibly. Some insurers will have a maximum cover value of goods and if you take over that amount and something happens then your claim may be denied. Make sure you’re checking your policy documents carefully before setting out with anything that’s of high value to make sure you’re protected.
If the cargo you’re transporting is damaged through human error, packed poorly or is a low quality good, then your insurer may not cover it.
In some cases, insurers won’t offer cover for the goods once they have left the courier or haulage vehicle. Make sure you’re talking to your insurer about any exclusions when taking out the policy
There are a number of factors that you’ll need to consider when thinking about the level of cover you’ll need, these can include:
- The vehicle type (van, car, motorcycle or lorry)
- Whether you’ll need to travel to mainland Europe
- Third party accidental damage
- The cost of goods
- The quality of goods
- Whether you want to bundle public or employers’ liability on too
Yes, you will. Goods in transit insurance only covers the cargo that you’re transporting, not the actual vehicle that’s being used. To make sure you’re covered in case of an accident, theft or damage then you’ll need to look at getting commercial vehicle insurance too.