This is an area where we find a lot of hauliers get confused and understandably so, with different conditions of carriage be it RHA, CMR, UK CMR and full liability (along with conditions within those conditions) etc. So we wanted to write a little news section/ informational guide for you to help break down any confusion.
Goods In Transit is now called Freight Liability.
As a haulier you should have a written contract with your customer that covers the goods you haul for them to a certain limit (often referred to as “terms of carriage”). What do we mean by this? Simply put you should be covering/ insuring your legal liability of the load and this is where the mistake is made, hauliers often believe that they are responsible for the entire value of the goods which in most cases they are not and will only need to cover an amount of the load on a per tonne basis (dependant on the conditions of carriage). *If you have any doubt on this you should contact your customer straight away and liaise with your insurance broker to advise them of any alterations that may be required*
So what are the different conditions?
- RHA (Road Haulage Association) for you to have these conditions you must be a fully paid up member of the RHA (please see their website for more details). The typical condition starts from £1,300 per tonne and is often used by hauliers who carry aggregates etc or loads of small value. There are also a number of higher conditions set within the RHA from £2,000 to £12,500 although the £12,500 is more typical of higher value loads for example wines and spirits, but again these are based on a per tonne basis. Please contact the RHA for information.
- CMR (Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road) this insurance is used to cover the goods you carry within the EU and unlike Freight liability insurance CMR is actually a legal requirement within the EU. Cover is based on a per tonne basis on SDRs (special drawing rights)
- UK CMR this insurance is as above but is only for the UK side of the journey
- Full Liability/ Responsibility, this cover is mainly for goods that you wouldn’t want covered on a per tonne basis as the goods have a set value per item for example plant machinery, pre fab buildings, cars or even boats.
You can have a mixture of all four of the above in one policy, most insurers are flexible because they understand as with all business’s things change.
This covers the typical top 4 insurances of this type seen with most hauliers in the UK. However, it must be made clear if you carry live stock, TAG (theft attractive goods) or hazardous/ chemical loads you must we repeat must notify your insurance broker or insurer so they can provide you with extra cover if required.
This is a very small guide to help you better understand Freight Liability Insurance and should not be used as advise for insurance. As this is a very specialist policy it is extremely important you have the correct cover in place and you should contact your current insurance provider if you have any questions or if you would like more information on this please do not hesitate to contact us.