I have explained in previous articles that if something goes wrong with your shipment, the freight company has limited liability to pay compensation.

The best way to make sure that you can recover the actual value of the goods damaged or lost is to arrange specialist 'goods in transit' insurance. As with house and buildings insurance, you pay a premium and make a claim when you need to.

It's easy enough to find insurance for your house and contents - we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements advising us to use comparison websites to get the best deal for all our personal insurance requirements, However, it's not so easy with 'goods in transit' insurance; in order to obtain the best kind of cover for your particular requirements, you need to find a specialist broker.

But this may not be worthwhile if you only have a small number of international shipments per year, or if you simply do not have time to do the research. That is when your freight forwarder can help you.

Many reputable shipping companies are able to offer 'goods in transit' insurance on a 'per shipment' basis. This usually means that you pay a small premium, based on the value of the goods. The shipping company can quote you for this when they give you a price for the freight. You will be issued with a Certificate of Insurance, which will enable you to make a claim if necessary.

You will need to confirm your instruction to insure in writing, but this is easily done by email.

To summarise, it's always advisable to ask shipping companies to quote for goods in transit insurance if you do not have your own annual policy. In that way, you can claim for the full value of the goods rather than settling for limited liability compensation.

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