Why marine insurance is important for movers

Across the international moving industry, everyone involved in the shipping of household goods knows the importance of marine insurance that provides cover for their clients possessions.

But how many of the clients you move miss the importance of this insurance? We know that more recently more clients have pointed to the fact that if they are engaging a professional company like yours to move their goods, insurance is not required.

The industry has also seen margins constantly challenged when securing moves and not taking insurance is seen as an easy and big cost saver by clients. Of course, the problem for your clients is often not your professional service and expertise but the mammoth overseas journey that their goods take. This of course includes the role other parties play in it, be that the container ships the goods travel on, the ports they are cleared at, or the warehouses they might need to be stored in awaiting final delivery – things that are very much beyond your control.

Some movers still struggle with this argument when dealing with clients and end up organising the moves of entire households across the world with no insurance in place. But what are the potential real costs from the decision not to insure and does the initial saving your client makes end up as a false economy when things go wrong?

Shipping accidents in the Port of Karachi and the Tasman Sea

Recent events in both the Port of Karachi and the Tasman Sea have highlighted the risks associated with overseas moves and the importance of taking out marine insurance.

Two container ships collided in the Port of Karachi in Pakistan in March. The first ship was trying to berth and scraped against a stationary ship, sending 21 shipping containers into the water. This disastrous event resulted in damage to and loss of a large number of goods.

In May, 83 shipping containers fell into the Tasman Sea after the ship carrying them got caught in a heavy swell off the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Goods from some of the containers reportedly washed up on beaches north of Sydney within a few days, while other containers remained partly submerged in the sea. In video footage here, it can be seen that some of the containers had already broken open and were hanging over the side of the ship, while others had tumbled on top of each other. If the people who owned the contents of the containers did not have marine insurance, then they will have lost those goods, potentially with no or very limited compensation.

A case for marine insurance

These examples show the very real dangers that your clients’ goods face when being moved. Accidents can happen as a result of human error or acts of nature (both of which are beyond your control) and this should be stated when discussing insurance with your client.

Malcolm Pearson, Director at Reason Global, says: “We have seen in these recent events that clients of Reason Global have been affected and the insurance in place has responded and dealt with the issues involved. When your clients do not take out insurance, the outcomes for them can be devastating and remind us all of the importance of marine insurance for worldwide moves.”