Marine cargo insurance for goods your business owns in transit

Quick answerMarine cargo insurance covers goods your business owns while they are being transported by road, rail, sea or air. It pays for covered loss or damage to your own stock, so you claim on your policy rather than relying on the transport company. We usually arrange broad accidental damage cover where available.

If you are insuring a home or a car rather than a business, start here instead.

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Who this page is for

Businesses moving goods they own: manufacturers and wholesalers sending stock, importers and exporters, retailers transferring inventory between stores, trades moving materials to site, and businesses relocating plant or equipment between their own locations.

If you are paid to transport goods that belong to your customers, that is a different policy: marine carriers insurance. If the goods are yours, this is the cover designed for the load itself.

What marine cargo insurance covers

Marine cargo insurance follows the goods through the journey rather than attaching to one truck, ship or aircraft. The policies we usually place are written on an accidental damage basis: broad cover for accidental loss or damage in transit, subject to the exclusions and limits in the wording and schedule.

International shipments may use the Institute Cargo Clauses, with Clauses (A) providing the broadest commonly used basis, subject to its exclusions. Domestic transit is usually expressed in the insurer's own wording.

Cover can include loading, unloading and incidental storage during the journey. Deliberate warehousing or storage for distribution can end the transit, so the start and finish points matter.

One detail worth checking early: on one wording we place, goods carried in your own vehicle rather than by a transport company have to be declared on the schedule before they are covered.

Why not just rely on the transport company?

Because then you lose control of the claim. If the carrier's insurance is the only cover, you depend on the transport operator's claim and there may still be an argument about liability. Your own marine cargo policy lets you claim directly for covered loss to your goods.

You deal with your insurer and broker, get the loss assessed, and leave any recovery from the carrier to be dealt with afterwards where appropriate.

A loading claim we handled: about $58,000

A computer retailer had a pallet of monitors in its warehouse ready to be loaded onto a truck for delivery to the purchaser. The warehouse hand lifted the pallet with a forklift, caught the side of the warehouse doorway and the pallet tipped over. The monitors were destroyed.

The loss was about $58,000. We claimed under the client's marine cargo policy because loading and unloading formed part of the insured transit. The client's excess on that claim was $250, and the claim went through without becoming a dispute about who else was at fault.

How is the value of the goods worked out?

Do not automatically insure the retail selling price. Marine cargo cover generally responds to the value of the goods, not the profit you hoped to make from selling them.

Goods you bought or sold commonly settle on invoice value plus freight. Stock moved between your own locations is usually based on what it cost you. Plant and equipment may be based on repair or replacement, depending on the wording. Overseas shipments use the value basis agreed on the schedule.

That is why we ask for the most valuable load, not the average one. A pallet might retail for $80,000 but have an invoice value of $52,000. The policy needs to be set around the value it will actually pay; lost trading profit is not automatically part of the cargo claim.

Refrigerated and chilled goods need an extra check

Temperature-controlled stock is one area where wordings differ. One can include unexpected deterioration on Australian journeys, including some refrigeration breakdown and temperature-setting errors. Another requires frozen or chilled food to be declared and agreed first. Where you carry your own chilled goods, that cover depends on you keeping the refrigeration machinery properly maintained.

The truck policy does not fix this. It may insure the vehicle and refrigeration unit, but not the chilled stock inside. Tell us about temperature-controlled goods before they move.

What marine cargo insurance does not automatically cover

Poor packing. Loss caused by inadequate packing can be excluded where you or your employees packed the goods, or where it was done with your knowledge.

Undeclared household or domestic goods. Furniture, appliances and personal effects may need to be declared and accepted before transit.

Value above the insured amount. If the load is worth more than the amount on the policy, the shortfall remains yours.

Routes outside the agreed territory. A new export route or destination should be checked before the goods leave.

How we arrange marine cargo cover

We start with the goods and the journey, not a quote screen. What are you moving? What is the most valuable load? Is it in your own vehicle or with a carrier? Does it go overseas? Who packs it? Is any of it chilled, fragile or attractive to thieves?

Then we read the basis of cover, any-one-conveyance limit, geographical limits, transit start and finish points, valuation basis and special conditions. The job is to tell you what the policy will do with the load on the road tomorrow.

Common mistakes we see

Insuring the average load instead of the worst one. The limit should be able to hold the most valuable consignment that could be on one vehicle or in one shipment.
Letting the schedule go stale. New products, higher stock values, new countries and a change from air to sea freight can all change the risk.
Assuming the carrier's insurance is your insurance. It is not.
Assuming a business pack transit limit is enough. It can be well below the value of one loaded vehicle.

Common questions

Marine Cargo Insurance Australia: your questions answered

Does the transport company's insurance cover my goods?

It may respond where the transport operator is legally responsible, but that is not the same as insuring the goods yourself. Your own marine cargo policy gives you a direct claim for covered loss rather than leaving you dependent on the carrier's policy and claims process.

What value should I insure my goods for?

Usually the value the policy will actually settle on: commonly invoice value plus freight for goods bought or sold, with different rules for stock moved between your own sites and for plant or equipment.

Are imports and exports covered?

They can be. Domestic legs are usually written under the insurer's accidental damage wording, while international shipments may use the Institute Cargo Clauses. The schedule records which basis and territories apply.

Do I need an annual policy if I only send a few loads?

Not always. A one-off shipment can be insured separately, particularly for an unusual import, export or large delivery outside your normal trading pattern.

Does my business pack already include goods in transit?

Some business packs include a small transit limit and some do not. We check the amount and the conditions against the value of the largest load you actually move.

How much does marine cargo insurance cost?

As an indication, annual cover can start from about $880 including our broker fee for a $50,000 sum insured, as at September 2026. Premiums vary with the goods, values, routes, frequency, claims history and the cover required, so this is not a quote. The only way to know your number is a quote against your actual risk.

Where to go next

Find out what your policy would do with the load on the road tomorrow

Tell us what you send, where it goes and what the biggest load is worth. We will read the wording and explain what it covers in plain English. Send a new enquiry and we'll get back to you within 90 minutes during business hours, 8am-6pm Monday to Friday.

Call now, most enquiries are settled in one conversation - or leave your details and we'll ring within 90 minutes on a new enquiry (8am–6pm Mon–Fri).