Assignment and blank endorsement
How the right to claim travels with the goods.
Definition
A marine cargo certificate is transferable. Endorsing it — commonly in blank, by signing the reverse without naming a transferee — passes the benefit of the cover to whoever holds it, so that the right to claim follows the goods and the documents through a sale chain. Letters of credit routinely call for an insurance document "blank endorsed" for exactly this reason.
Why it decides money
It is what makes CIF work. The seller buys the cover, the buyer bears the risk, and the endorsed certificate is what puts the claim in the right hands.
Related terms
- Certificate of insurance
- Evidence that a named shipment is covered under a policy.
- Insurable interest
- You can only insure goods you stand to lose something by.
- UCP 600
- The letter-of-credit rules, including what an insurance document must show.
More in carriage and documents
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