When Insurance Does Not Pay
When insurance does not pay
Documented cases in which a cargo claim was rejected — not because the policy failed, but because the cargo was not protected, or the protection could not be proved. Each case ends with what would have prevented it.
Insurers and moisture absorbers
What an adjuster looks for when a container arrives with condensation damage, and why «we always ship it this way» is not a defence.
The cargo nobody secured
Shifted pallets, crushed cases and the lashing that was never there. The CTU Code forces the three directions of movement into the discussion.
The fruit that ripened on its own
Ethylene, inherent vice and the carrier defence that has survived in court since 1990.
The container with no witness
A reefer arrives out of temperature and there is no independent record of the voyage. Without data, the claim is one word against another.
Why this matters for an exporter
Marine cargo policies exclude damage caused by insufficient packing or preparation. In practice the question is always the same: was the cargo protected in a way appropriate to the voyage, and can you prove it? Loading photographs, a calculation sheet and a temperature record are what turn «we protected it» into evidence.
Before your next shipment
A short review of how you protect and document a container is usually cheaper than one claim.