How to make your cargo risk presentations stand out

The quality of the risk presentation to insurers is always important, but in the past we have seen a lot of system driven presentations that aren’t built fully for products like cargo, and therefore need further additions which can vary greatly. 

As with all cases, the more detailed the submission, the better the quote; and that can be even more important if two brokers submit the same account with varying quality of presentation. 

To help you present your client’s case in the best way possible, here’s our top tips for a great Marine Cargo risk presentation:

Sendings 

A sending is defined as goods being physically moved from one country to another, covered by the insurance. In your presentation, you need to include the sendings (calculated using the basis of valuation*), split by the regions of the world. Usually, you can split these as follows: 
• UK
• EU
• Middle East
• Far East
• Australasia
• USA/Canada
• South America
• South Africa
• Rest of World. 

Limit 

This is the maximum conveyance limit for any one conveyance and/or any one storage location (calculated using the Basis of Valuation). 

Detailed subject matter insured 

This refers to the goods, which should be defined clearly and in concise detail. 

Basis of Valuation (BOV)

The Basis of Valuation (BOV) is the method which establishes the insurable value of cargo. It is essentially the limit of what can be claimed, and can include goods, as well as expenses like freight, and duty.
Key points to remember: 
1) The BOV is an important part of calculating the conveyance and/or storage limits, so it’s important that you understand it and discuss it thoroughly with your customers and underwriters. 
2) Make sure the customers understand what to expect from a recoverable claim, using the BOV. It’s an easy way to help manage expectations. 
3) It’s important for underwriters too – we take into account how a basis of valuation might be made up, and how that impacts our judgement. 

If you want a non-standard BOV, such as Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) + 20% instead of +10%, then you should ask your underwriter for this specifically.

Claims 

You should provide a 5-year claims history, including respective premiums and recoveries made. The recoveries are important, so please make sure to include this detail.

Storage 

Here you should include the limits required (calculated using the Basis of Valuation) and the security, fire and construction details of the storage locations; as well as the physical location addresses and post codes for all storage locations.