Why insure your merchandise?

The goal of any insurance operation is to transfer the financial burden of a risk from the Insured to the Insurer.

During transport, goods are exposed to risks specific to this operation:  movement, distance... there are risks against which it would be difficult to protect yourself because the goods are no longer in your possession; they have been assigned to a carrier.

When you entrust your goods to a carrier, an obligation of result weighs on him (that is, the carrier must transport and deliver the goods in good condition, at the agreed destination). However in case of damage, the compensation you receive will be based not on the value of the goods, but usually on their weight.

For example, for a land carrier of pharmaceutical products between Lyon and Le Havre with a weight of 5 tons and valued at 200,000 euros, the carrier’s compensation is legally limited to 11,500 euros (2 300 euros * 5 tons) in the event of total loss. Your net loss is 188,500 euros.

Unless you are able to demonstrate that the loss is due to an inexcusable fault of the carrier, you will not be entitled to any further compensation. But what is more worrisome is that, in the event of force majeure or if it is your fault (by issuing the wrong instructions to the carrier, as an example), the carrier’s obligation of results is cancelled and he therefore doesn’t owe you any money.

Moreover, be aware that your carrier has no legal obligation to insure himself; in the absence of insurance, be sure your carrier is financially solvent.

Insuring your goods means that in the event that your goods are damaged during their transport, you have the guarantee that your insurer will compensate you for the real and actual value of your transported goods, and not on the basis of any limited responsibility clause.