CynOpt

We've just had a call from Crown about our quote.
Not only are they quoting best part of a grand higher than anyone else, they are saying the insurance HAS to be 3% of the full value of the container

Other companies have told us we can itemise which items we want insured.

Crown are INSISTING that if we do this, and then we have to claim, that the insurance company will say
You insured for 15K, total value of shipment = 30K, therefore we will only pay for HALF the value of the item that is being replaced.

Sounds very peculiar to me, someone is wrong, and I need to know who.

SO.... Has anyone had any problems claiming for an insured item in a part insured container.

Off to Ireland in 20 minutes, so might not be able to pick up replies straight away.

Thanks in advance,


PS, they also implied that if we went with anyone else, our stuff would be AQIS inspected in the open air on a quay side, rather than in a bonded warehouse.
If its true, its a good reason to go with them, if its not, naughty naughty.
Anyone got any experience on this to offer?

Deedee13

i had to insure 3% of all contents too! Trouble was when I went to claim what a mess!!! there is so much fine print. make sure u read it all. We had stuff damaged, a bike, didnt need packing apparently, but because it wasnt packed we did not get a penny! stuff went missing, i had to give a detailed description of everything and still only got a fraction of the cost! How the hell will they know what is inspected and where???

DrWho

Not true... May I point you in the direction of Letton Percival who will independently insure you for less than that... May I also suggest you have a chat with them about what should and shouldn't be done...

Utter bollox... there are many agents over here that have relationships with UK based shippers to look after their clients once their cargo arrives in OZ... Our local agent was Kent International in Sydney who were very good...

mr mover

[QUOTE=CynOpt;.




PS, they also implied that if we went with anyone else, our stuff would be AQIS inspected in the open air on a quay side, rather than in a bonded warehouse.
If its true, its a good reason to go with them, if its not, naughty naughty.
Anyone got any experience on this to offer?[/QUOTE]

This is total crap all overseas containers must be opened and the contents stored in a bonded whare house until released by AQIS and CUSTOMS.......mm

chels

We insured with Lettoon Pecival, much more reasonable than Allied Pickfords, and glad we did as we had to claim for about 10% of the goods we shipped over (well, meant to ship over - who knows where they actually went?)

Steve Lawson

My insurer charges 2%, so shop around!

Steve Lawson

Can you name these insurance firms? I would like to speak with them.

CynOpt

It wasn't an insurance firm directly, it was the shipping companies who came round to do the quotes, we had Allied Pickfords and Doree Bonner, they both quoted 2.5% of the value of the stuff we wanted to itemise.

So, its possible to use a company for shipping, and arrange insurance separately? I might look into that.

Thanks for all the replies.

Steve Lawson

I would still be interested on what basis any claim would be settled if you part insure. Whe I was a removals estimator, we were always told that if you under insure or part insure, your claim would be settled on a pro-rata basis. Maybe policies have changed - I would double checkl the small print..

Phoenix

Letton Percival

Excellent - know their job. No need to get ripped off or given the wrong advice.
My cost was £200 for a full container with named items over £1000 and 3 motorbikes onboard too.

Steve Lawson

On the face of it, that's excellent. Could you advise the destination and the value?

CynOpt

It would be on an itemised basis.
ie, We have no interest in insuring the furniture, bed linen, kitchen stuff, garden stuff.
All that stuff we are just chucking in, cos the container is already there for the stuff we care about.

We would insure electricals, media, collections and valuables. Listed and valued item by item.

I'm finding it really hard to understand why it should be so difficult to part insure.
If I'm being offered the option to itemise what I want insured, surely the insurance company can't turn around and convert that to a pro-rata.

By my logic, if I itemise the items, they should fully pay me the value of the missing goods if my entire dvd collection goes missing, and conversely if the sofa, the fridge and the 20 year towel collection goes missing, I wont be claiming.
However, you seem to be saying that if I insure on an itemised basis, they will only pay me a % of the value of the DVD collection, but I am pretty damn sure that if the sofa isn't itemised, they wont pay me a red cent for it.
So that would mean that by paying for 50% of my stuff be be insured, I am actually paying to HALF insure half my stuff, and not insure the other half at all.

Am I missing some vital piece of information that will make this make sense?
Would they also cough up a % for the sofa regarsless of my not itemising it, for example?

Or is it a well known scam to force you to fully insure, that you just have to put up with?

This was why I originally asked, if anyone had ever claimed on a part insured container. I'd like to hear some personal experience on this from the client perspective.

Steve Lawson

I know these policies exist, you just need to call some brokers and one was mentioned above - they are half the price!

Phoenix

I'll try dig out the paperwork. Destination was UK to Fremantle

Steve Lawson

I agree with what you say here, it is logical. I believe, as with all things insurance/legal that logic doesn't apply, though!

I would imagine that an insurer would refer to the Geneva Convention terms which covers international shipping liabilities. There is a clause that refers to 'General Average', which as I understand it is a fund paid by the cargo owners on board a vessel which is stricken. In the event of a vessel running aground, sinking, or requiring repairs due to bad weather, the cargo owners (i.e. you) are legally bound to contribute to the salvage/repair costs. This is all covered by the insurance underwriter and I believe that it is value-based. Therefore if you underdeclare the values, then the insurer would only pay proportionate to the value you declared. I think that this is the reason, but I am not an insurer (just 25 years in the shipping business), so you would have to clarify this with an underwriter before 'quoting' me.

I would, however, expect an insurer to accept a zero (or very minimal) value for goods which have no resale value. Your clothes, books, etc. that you say you are not concerned about, I think you could declare as very minimal value. But again you would have to clarify this against the policy you've been offered. Wear and tear is usually taken into consideration in the event of a claim anyway.

Another option, if all else fails, is to ship the whole job as two consignments in the the same container. Insure one consignment and not the other - you'll need to have your negotiation skills on with the mover as they may try to include extra handling costs for this.

Sorry it's a long winded reply, please bear in mind this is only MY understanding. It may be your insurance underwriter (who will want a maximum premium) will not agree. You just need to speak with a good broker.