The company market
Balance-sheet insurers writing cargo directly or through brokers, on their own paper and wording.
How cover is placed
A single insurer takes 100% of the risk on its own paper. Cover is often written as an annual open policy against which you declare shipments, with a per-shipment limit and a per-conveyance limit agreed up front.
Who carries the risk
The insurer whose name is on the policy, for the whole risk. Its financial strength rating — published by agencies such as A.M. Best, S&P or Fitch — is the thing to check, and it should be disclosed to you rather than assumed.
Typical line size
Standard containerised trade up to substantial per-conveyance limits, set in the policy.
Strengths
- One counterparty, one wording, one claims contact
- Annual open policies with declarations suit regular shippers
- Faster for ordinary cargo than a subscription placement
- Multi-country programmes for groups with several entities
Trade-offs
- Appetite is narrower — a declined class is simply declined
- Wordings are the insurer’s own and vary in ways the clause name does not reveal
- Less flexible on unusual routes and commodities
When to look here first
Regular shippers moving mainstream cargo who want one policy, one renewal conversation and declarations rather than certificate-by-certificate buying.
How a claim is handled
Handled in-house or by the insurer’s appointed adjuster. Turnaround is usually quicker than a subscription market for straightforward losses.
What filing a claim involves →Other channels
Syndicates subscribing to a risk through a broker, with capacity for the awkward and the very large.
Underwriting on delegated authority from an insurer — the channel behind most instant cargo cover.
Your agent, not the insurer’s — they shop the market and argue your claim.
This page describes how the cargo market is structured. It names no insurer and asserts no relationship between InsuranceScanner and any market — we have no published panel yet. Nothing here is a recommendation that a particular channel or cover is suitable for you; see the Terms for our role.