Plants and projects · heavy and over-dimensional cargo
Machinery in Transit: Paid by the Part, Not the Machine
A machine on a trailer is worth more than most consignments, travels slower, and is most at risk on the crane at each end. When it is damaged, cargo policies usually pay the cost of replacing or repairing the damaged part rather than the whole machine, and the weeks a plant waits for that part are not cargo losses at all. Both are worth settling before the load is lifted.
Key takeaways
- Many cargo policies on machinery carry a replacement clause: a partial loss is paid as the cost of replacing or repairing the damaged part, with carriage and refitting, not the value of the whole machine.
- Loading and unloading by crane is where heavy machinery is most often damaged. Whether the cover attaches during lifting at each end is in the wording, and it matters more than the peril list.
- Over-dimensional cargo needs a route survey and the right trailer. A loss that follows from ignoring either invites an argument about the cause.
- Delay is excluded from cargo cover. Income lost while a plant waits for a damaged machine is insured, if at all, by delay in start-up cover arranged with the project's erection policy.
- Imported machinery is an Institute Cargo Clauses risk at sea and an inland transit risk after the port. One warehouse-to-warehouse policy avoids a gap at the port.
What actually goes wrong, and whether it is covered
Read this against your own policy schedule. The clause set named there decides which rows below you are insured for.
| Exposure | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Drops and impact during lifting | The characteristic loss: a sling slips or a crane is overloaded at loading or unloading. Check that the cover attaches during lifting at both ends. |
| Overturning on gradients and turns | High centres of gravity tip on poor roads. Covered under ITC-B as overturning; the argument is usually about loading and securing. |
| Strikes on bridges and overhead lines | Over-dimensional loads hit low structures when the route was not surveyed. Collision is an ITC-B peril, but the route survey is what a surveyor asks for first. |
| Water and corrosion | Machines shipped without protective packing rust in rain or at sea. Insufficient packing by the sender is excluded. |
| Missing parts and accessories | Loose tools, panels and spares go missing from open trailers. Theft is outside ITC-B; list the accessories on the packing list so a shortage can be proved. |
If it happens: the first four things
In order. The first two are the ones people get wrong, and they are the ones that cannot be fixed afterwards.
- Photograph the machine, its packing and its lashing at loading, and keep the lifting plan and crane details.
- Inspect before the crane leaves at delivery, and note any damage on the lorry receipt and the delivery documents.
- Get the manufacturer's written assessment of the damaged part, its cost and its lead time; under a replacement clause that document sets the claim.
- Notify the insurer immediately and the carrier in writing well inside 180 days of booking under section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007.
Written notice to the transporter must go within 180 days of the booking date under section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007. Not from the date of loss, and a claim bill does not count as notice. The wording is ready to copy at our claim letters page.
The words the trade actually uses
Useful when the loss is being described by a driver, a munshi or a godown supervisor rather than by you.
| Hindi | What it means for the policy |
|---|---|
| मशीन | machine |
| क्रेन से लोडिंग | loading by crane, where most damage happens |
| ट्रेलर | the trailer, low-bed or hydraulic axle for heavy loads |
| ओडीसी माल | over-dimensional cargo |
| पुर्ज़ा | the part, which is what a replacement clause pays for |
Export and the sea leg
Machinery imported for a plant arrives on Institute Cargo Clauses and continues inland on transit cover. Insuring the whole journey on one warehouse-to-warehouse policy avoids arguing about whether the damage happened before or after the port.
The clause sets themselves are set out in full on our marine cargo clauses page, including the seven named perils under ITC-B taken from an insurer's filed wording.
Frequently asked questions
Does transit insurance pay the full value of a damaged machine?
Not usually for a partial loss. Machinery cargo policies commonly carry a replacement clause that pays the cost of replacing or repairing the damaged part, with carriage and refitting. A total loss is paid up to the sum insured.
Is crane damage during loading covered?
It depends on whether the policy attaches during loading and unloading at the named locations. Many do, some do not, and for heavy machinery it is the most important line in the wording.
Does cargo insurance cover the delay if a machine arrives damaged?
No. Delay is excluded from cargo cover. Lost income from a delayed start is insured, if at all, under delay in start-up cover with the project's erection all risks policy.
How should imported machinery be insured?
On one warehouse-to-warehouse policy from the supplier's works to the site, so the sea leg under the Institute Cargo Clauses and the inland leg are one contract with no gap at the port.
Related: Erection all risk insurance · Marine import insurance · Machinery breakdown insurance · Marine cargo clauses explained · The letters to send after a loss.