Does the carrier not have to pay for cargo it loses?

Only up to a limit set by the convention that governs the carriage, and only after its defences fail. The limits are set by weight or by package, never by the value of the goods — 8.33 SDR per kilogram by road under CMR, 2 SDR per kilogram or 666.67 SDR per package by sea under the Hague-Visby Rules, 26 SDR per kilogram by air under the Montreal Convention since 28 December 2024, and US$500 per package under US COGSA.

Is the freight forwarder's liability the same as insurance?

No. A forwarder trades under standard conditions that limit its liability, usually to a low figure per kilogram, and those conditions are a cap on a possible recovery rather than a promise to pay. Cargo insurance pays the agreed insured value of the goods.

How long do I have to claim against a carrier?

One year under the Hague-Visby Rules, US COGSA, CMR and CIM; two years under the Hamburg Rules and the Montreal Convention. Several conventions also require a much shorter written notice — three days for non-apparent sea damage, seven days under CMR, and fourteen days for damage to air cargo.

A Special Drawing Right, the International Monetary Fund's unit of account. Conventions state their limits in SDR so the caps do not erode with one currency's inflation. The IMF revalues it every business day, which is why a limit quoted in dollars is only a snapshot.

What a carrier actually owes for your cargo

Every mode of transport has a convention that caps the carrier's liability. The caps are set by weight or by package and have nothing to do with what the goods are worth. These are the published figures, with the article each one comes from.

11 regimesPublished treaty limitsCited to article

The limits, side by side

The last column applies each published limit to one sample consignment — 1,000 kg gross, 10 packages, invoice value US$120,000 — so the caps can be compared on the same shipment. The consignment is an illustration chosen for round arithmetic, not a measurement of anything, and no figure below is converted into a currency: the SDR is revalued daily.

Regime	Mode	Limit	Time bar	Cap on the sample
Hague-Visby Rules Article IV rule 5(a)	Sea	2 SDR / kg 666.67 SDR / package	One year from delivery, or from the date the goods should have been delivered	6,666.7 SDR per package
Hague Rules Article IV rule 5	Sea	£100 (gold value) / package	One year from delivery or from the date of intended delivery	Not comparable
Hamburg Rules Article 6	Sea	2.5 SDR / kg 835 SDR / package	Two years, which is twice the Hague-Visby period	8,350 SDR per package
Rotterdam Rules Article 59 Not in force	Sea	3 SDR / kg 875 SDR / package	Two years	8,750 SDR per package
US COGSA Section 4(5)	Sea	500 USD / package	One year from delivery or from the date of intended delivery	5,000 USD per package
CMR (road) Article 23(3)	Road	8.33 SDR / kg	One year	8,330 SDR per kilogram
CIM / COTIF (rail) Article 30 § 2	Rail	17 SDR / kg	One year	17,000 SDR per kilogram
Montreal Convention (air) Article 22(3)	Air	26 SDR / kg	Two years from arrival, from the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, or from the date carriage stopped	26,000 SDR per kilogram
Warsaw Convention (air) Article 22, as amended by Montreal Protocol No. 4	Air	17 SDR / kg	Two years	17,000 SDR per kilogram
CMNI (inland waterway) Article 20	Inland waterway	2 SDR / kg 666.67 SDR / package	One year from the day the goods were delivered or should have been delivered	6,666.7 SDR per package
Carmack Amendment (US domestic) 49 U.S.C. § 14706(c)	Road	No treaty cap	A minimum of two years from the carrier's written declination, again as a floor	No treaty cap — see the tariff

The cap is only the ceiling

Before the limit is ever reached the carrier has defences: inherent vice, insufficient packing, act or omission of the shipper, and — at sea — a long list of excepted perils. A claim that fails on a defence recovers nothing at all, not the capped figure.

Notice periods are shorter than you think

Three days for non-apparent damage by sea, seven days under CMR, fourteen days for damage to air cargo. Those clocks run from delivery, not from the day somebody opened the carton and found the problem.

Deadlines by mode →

Why the two are not alternatives

A recovery from a carrier is an argument that takes months and is capped. A cargo policy pays the agreed insured value, then pursues the carrier itself by subrogation. The recovery is the insurer's problem, not yours.

How subrogation works →

Common questions

Does the carrier not have to pay for cargo it loses?: Only up to a limit set by the convention that governs the carriage, and only after its defences fail. The limits are set by weight or by package, never by the value of the goods — 8.33 SDR per kilogram by road under CMR, 2 SDR per kilogram or 666.67 SDR per package by sea under the Hague-Visby Rules, 26 SDR per kilogram by air under the Montreal Convention since 28 December 2024, and US$500 per package under US COGSA.
Is the freight forwarder's liability the same as insurance?: No. A forwarder trades under standard conditions that limit its liability, usually to a low figure per kilogram, and those conditions are a cap on a possible recovery rather than a promise to pay. Cargo insurance pays the agreed insured value of the goods.
How long do I have to claim against a carrier?: One year under the Hague-Visby Rules, US COGSA, CMR and CIM; two years under the Hamburg Rules and the Montreal Convention. Several conventions also require a much shorter written notice — three days for non-apparent sea damage, seven days under CMR, and fourteen days for damage to air cargo.
What is an SDR?: A Special Drawing Right, the International Monetary Fund's unit of account. Conventions state their limits in SDR so the caps do not erode with one currency's inflation. The IMF revalues it every business day, which is why a limit quoted in dollars is only a snapshot.

Sources

Limits are stated as each instrument states them. No SDR conversion is shown because the IMF revalues the SDR every business day.

This page summarises the instruments above. It is not the wording, and it is not legal advice. Where a summary conflicts with a convention text, a policy wording or a certificate, that document governs.

Read a regime in full

InsuranceScanner is an insurance intermediary, not an insurer — see the Terms for our role. Nothing here is a personal recommendation that a particular cover, sum insured or deductible is suitable for you. Where anything on this page conflicts with the certificate, policy schedule or wording issued by an insurer, that document governs.