Marine transit insurance
.... now you're covered
What is marine transit insurance?
Moving goods or vessels always carries risk, whether from storms and rough seas, fire, theft or piracy, and even a single incident can prevent cargo or a vessel from reaching its destination, or cause costly damage along the way.
Marine transit insurance is a family of related covers that protect your business from loss of, or damage to, vessels and cargo. Cover can extend to door-to-door delivery of goods worldwide by sea, road, rail or air, including storage along the way.
The scale of Australia's reliance on this task is enormous. Ships carry over 99% of Australia's international trade by weight, and around 87% by value, according to the Department of Infrastructure's Australia's Maritime Context and Emission Reduction Initiatives. Australia exported 1,558.2 million tonnes of goods by sea in 2023–24, and imported a further 111.6 million tonnes worth $336.9 billion, per the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics' Australian Sea Freight 2023–24 report.
Whether your business ships or receives goods internationally, moves stock domestically or owns and operates commercial vessels, that exposure sits with you rather than the carrier in far more circumstances than most businesses expect. A transport carrier's liability for lost or damaged goods is often capped well below the value of the goods themselves, leaving a gap that falls back on the business. Marine transit insurance is designed to close that gap.
What's covered by marine transit insurance
Marine cover spans several distinct categories, and which ones apply depends on whether your business ships goods, operates vessels or both. Your broker can confirm which sections are relevant to your business and what else can be added to your cover.
Cover for loss of or damage to goods while being transported by sea, air, rail or road, from collection to delivery.
Cover for marina operators, ship repairers, port authorities and other marine service providers against third-party injury and property damage.
Cover for loss of or damage to a commercial vessel itself, such as a charter boat, fishing vessel, tug or barge.
Cover for goods moved within Australia by road or rail, including the risk of a vehicle rollover or accident.
Cover for goods while temporarily stored as part of their journey, such as in a warehouse between transport legs.
Why you might need marine transit insurance
Marine transit policy types
Cover can be arranged per shipment or as an annual policy covering all of a business's transits over a 12-month period, which suits businesses that ship or receive goods regularly. Vessel owners and marine service providers typically need separate cover for the vessel itself and for liability to third parties, rather than a single combined policy.
Marine transit key considerations
Which perils are covered, and on what terms, varies depending on the type of policy and the trading terms attached to a shipment, such as who bears the risk of loss at each stage of the journey. It's worth checking how a policy responds to storage along the way, not just the transit itself, and confirming whether cover follows the goods regardless of which carrier is used. Reviewing this with your broker before goods are shipped means there's time to close any gaps.
The carrier's liability ends before yours does
Cargo doesn't need to sink or catch fire to become a costly loss — a damaged pallet, a rejected shipment or goods held up in storage between transport legs can all fall outside what a carrier is liable for. Marine transit insurance is built to cover that gap, whichever mode gets the goods there.
Your broker can let you know whether your cover follows the goods regardless of which carrier is used, how storage in transit is treated under your policy, and whether vessel cover needs to be arranged separately from cargo cover if your business does both.
Let's get you covered
