Marine Cargo Insurance

Open Cover
Open cover is usually issued for import/export. The open cover is a contract effected for a period of 12 months, whereby the insurance company agrees to provide insurance cover to all shipments coming within the scope of the open cover. Open cover is not a policy. It is an unstamped agreement. As and when shipments are declared, specific policies are issued as evidence of the contract and on collection of premium.

Open Policy
This policy is issued for transit of goods within India. Policy is valid for one year and all transits during the policy period and declared are automatically covered by the insurance company subject to the availability of the overall sum insured. It is a stamped document. In this case specific policies are not issued for each consignment. Premium can be collected in advance for the entire estimated value during the policy period. Stamp duty is collected in advance along with premium for despatches to be declared periodically.

Specific Voyage Policy
This policy is valid for a single voyage or transit. The policy will be issued before the voyage starts. The coverage will cease immediately on completion of the voyage. The specific voyage policy must show complete details of the risk. It should contain particulars of conveyance/Vessel name/ Bill of Lading or Way bill and date, sum insured, terms and conditions of cover, voyage, cargo description etc like all other marine policies

Annual Policy
This policy may be issued to cover goods in transit by road or rail or sea from specified depots or processing units owned or hired by the insured. The goods covered must belong to or held in trust by the insured. These policies cannot be issued to transport operators, clearing, forwarding and commission agents or freight forwarders or in joint names.. They cannot be assigned or transferred. For such policies the sum
insured should not be less than Rs 5000/-.