Goods-in-transit insurance could become more difficult, more restrictive and more expensive for cross-Channel operators in light of the increasing problem of loads being spoiled by stowaways, a loss adjuster has warned.
Rod Davis, senior partner at Clark Woodward Hungate, which specialises in surveys and investigations for insurers underwriting transit liability, told MT that operators travelling through hotspots where migrants are known to congregate will probably be liable for any damage to loads where vehicles are infiltrated, leaving their goods-in-transit insurers facing a payout.
Under the Carriage of Goods by Road Act, stressed Davis, hauliers can only evade liability for spoiled loads as a result of circumstances that cannot be avoided and the consequences of which cannot be prevented.
But as long as there are alternative routes they could have taken – however costly or inconvenient – the liability for damaged goods will sit with the carrier and its insurer, he said.
Often, added Davis, the claim can exceed the level of damage to loads because con-signees may refuse an entire load, even if only a small part is truly damaged. The major multiples are difficult on this issue, he suggested.
Detecting what is, and is not, damaged can sometimes be a problem for the insurance sector, noted Davis, and where disagreement exists, consignees often bring commercial pressures to bear to force hauliers and insurers to pay out.
The upshot, warned Davis, may be rising goods-in-transit premiums for international hauliers and restrictions in policies about the routes they take or the way they secure their trailers.
“As it stands, I don’t think they [insurers] have a defence to not pay. And if you’re having to continually pay, ultimately the rates will go up,” he said.
“It is not beyond the realms of possibility that more restrictions will be put in and they’ll want secure locking on vehicles and things like that,” Davis added.
It comes after calls for action at a national government level to address the migrant crisis in and around the port.
