Kishangarh · Rajasthan · stone in transit
Marble in Transit: The Cover Most Traders Have Is the Wrong One
A marble slab rarely dies in an accident. It dies in handling, a corner at a time, and the policy most traders hold does not pay for that. The distinction between an accident peril and a handling loss is the whole of marble transit insurance, and it is settled before the truck leaves, not after it arrives.
Key takeaways
- Inland Transit Clauses (B) is a named-peril cover. Chipping, cracking and handling breakage are not among the named perils, so a slab that arrives with a broken corner is not covered under it.
- For stone, ITC-A, the all-risks version, is usually the honest answer. The premium difference is smaller than the gap in cover.
- Insufficient packing carried out by you or your staff is excluded under every clause set. On stone that exclusion decides more claims than any peril does.
- Loading and unloading is where most stone is lost, and it is also where the policy's attachment and termination wording matters most.
- The notice to the transporter runs 180 days from the booking date under section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007, not from the day you saw the damage.
Watch: quarry to site, in 60 seconds
Easy English with Hindi · खदान से साइट तक: जहाँ बीमा साथ छोड़ देता है
A 60-second film in easy English and Hindi on where marble and granite insurance stops, from the quarry face to the port: machines and contract labour at the quarry, gang saws in the factory, loading, the 7 events a basic transit policy pays for on the road, CIF at the port, and what to do if a slab arrives broken. Shot on real quarries, factories, trucks and ports. Watch it on its own page.
Read the film: every line, in English and Hindi
| 0:00 | Marble and granite. Quarry to site: where your insurance stops. 5 places stone gets damaged, and what to check at each.मार्बल और ग्रेनाइट। खदान से साइट तक: जहाँ बीमा साथ छोड़ देता है। 5 जगहें जहाँ पत्थर का नुकसान होता है, और हर जगह क्या जाँचना है। |
| 0:05 | The journey of a block, from the pit to the port: quarry, factory, loading, road, port.एक ब्लॉक का सफ़र, खदान से बंदरगाह तक: खदान, फ़ैक्टरी, लदान, सड़क, बंदरगाह। |
| 0:10 | 1. Quarry: machines and people. Machines in the pit need plant and machinery cover. Worker hurt: the owner is liable, even with no fault. Contract labour too, under section 81.1. खदान: मशीनें और लोग। खदान की मशीनों के लिए प्लांट एंड मशीनरी कवर। मज़दूर घायल: गलती न हो तब भी ज़िम्मेदारी मालिक की। ठेके के मज़दूर भी, धारा 81 के तहत। |
| 0:17 | 2. Factory: gang saws and polishing lines. Fire policy covers the premises. Machine breaks down: machinery breakdown cover. Lost business: not in a normal fire policy.2. फ़ैक्टरी: गैंग-सॉ और पॉलिशिंग लाइन। फायर पॉलिसी परिसर को कवर करती है। मशीन ख़राब: मशीनरी ब्रेकडाउन कवर। कारोबार का नुकसान: आम फायर पॉलिसी में नहीं। |
| 0:25 | 3. Loading: where most stone breaks. Poor packing by you: never covered. Take photos before the tirpal goes on. Crane loading: check when cover starts.3. लदान: जहाँ सबसे ज़्यादा पत्थर टूटता है। आपकी कमज़ोर पैकिंग: कभी कवर नहीं। तिरपाल डालने से पहले फ़ोटो लीजिए। क्रेन से लदान: देखिए कवर कब शुरू होता है। |
| 0:32 | 4. On the road: the basic policy pays for 7 events only. Overturning and collision: covered. Chipping and handling damage: not covered. Theft and short delivery: not covered. Poor packing by you: not covered. Rain is not one of them either. Check what your own policy says before the load leaves.4. सड़क पर: बेसिक पॉलिसी सिर्फ़ 7 घटनाओं का पैसा देती है। पलटी और टक्कर: कवर। टूट-फूट और लदान का नुकसान: कवर नहीं। चोरी और माल कम पहुँचना: कवर नहीं। आपकी कमज़ोर पैकिंग: कवर नहीं। बारिश भी इनमें नहीं। माल निकलने से पहले देखिए आपकी पॉलिसी क्या कहती है। |
| 0:40 | 5. Export: CIF gives the smallest sea cover. It pays only for major accidents such as fire, sinking or collision. Theft and most water damage are left out. The sales contract sets the sea cover. Check it.5. निर्यात: CIF में सबसे सीमित समुद्री कवर। यह सिर्फ़ आग, डूबने या टक्कर जैसे बड़े हादसों का पैसा देता है। चोरी और ज़्यादातर पानी का नुकसान बाहर। समुद्री कवर बिक्री अनुबंध तय करता है। जाँचिए। |
| 0:45 | Slab arrived broken? Do these 4 things. Take photos before moving anything. Get the damage written on the challan, signed by the driver. Keep the packing for the surveyor. Written notice to the transporter within 180 days of booking.स्लैब टूटकर पहुँचा? ये 4 काम कीजिए। कुछ भी हटाने से पहले फ़ोटो लीजिए। चालान पर नुकसान लिखवाइए, ड्राइवर के हस्ताक्षर के साथ। सर्वेयर के लिए पैकिंग वैसी ही रखिए। बुकिंग से 180 दिन में ट्रांसपोर्टर को लिखित नोटिस। |
| 0:52 | Free policy check. Send your policy on WhatsApp, 92514 56334. We tell you where your cover stops. Rakshit Financial Services, Udaipur, since 2004.मुफ़्त पॉलिसी जाँच। अपनी पॉलिसी व्हाट्सऐप कीजिए, 92514 56334, और जानिए बीमा कहाँ साथ छोड़ता है। रक्षित फाइनेंशियल सर्विसेज़, उदयपुर, 2004 से। |
Watch: 3 short videos on this topic
From Pit to Port, a video series in easy English and Hindi on marble, granite and marine cover. Under 30 seconds each.
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 |
|---|---|
| Chipping and edge damage | The characteristic marble loss. Rarely one event, usually cumulative through loading, road vibration and unloading. Not an ITC-B peril, and this is the single most common uncovered loss in the Kishangarh trade. |
| Cracking from vibration and flexing | Large-format slabs flex on a poorly loaded bed. A hairline crack that appears at destination is hard to date, which is why photographs at loading matter. |
| Overturning and collision | These are covered under ITC-B, and when they happen the loss is usually total rather than partial. This is the peril the cheap policy is actually for. |
| Staining and moisture | Marble is porous. Water ingress leaves marks that polishing may not lift, and the commercial loss can exceed the physical one. |
| Theft and short delivery | Not covered under ITC-B. A slab or two off a consignment is quietly common and quietly uninsured. |
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 load before the tirpal goes on, and again at delivery before anything is moved. On stone, the argument is almost always about when the damage happened, and loading photographs end that argument.
- Have the delivery challan endorsed with the damage or shortage at the moment of delivery, signed by the driver. An unendorsed challan makes recovery from the transporter very difficult later.
- Do not move, re-stack or repair the damaged slabs before the surveyor sees them. Re-stacking is the most common way a genuine stone claim gets reduced.
- Keep the packing and lashing arrangement intact where it is safe to do so. The surveyor will form a view on whether packing was adequate, and that view decides a large share of stone claims.
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 |
|---|---|
| पत्थर / स्लैब | stone, slab |
| टूट-फूट | breakage, the loss ITC-B does not cover |
| बिल्टी | the consignment note, LR or GR |
| पलटी | overturning, which is covered |
| सर्वेयर | surveyor, before whom nothing should be moved |
Export and the sea leg
Processed marble does move out through Mundra and Kandla, and once it is on the water it is an Institute Cargo Clauses risk rather than an inland one. The inland leg to the port stays on the transit policy, and under FOB or CFR that leg is the seller's exposure, uninsured more often than not.
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 cover chipped or broken marble slabs?
Only if you are on the right clause set. Inland Transit Clauses (B) is a named-peril cover and handling breakage is not one of the seven perils, so a slab that arrives chipped is not covered under it. ITC-A, the all-risks version, does respond to accidental breakage subject to the exclusions. Most marble traders are sold ITC-B and discover the difference only after a load arrives damaged.
What is the right insurance for marble transport from Kishangarh?
For processed slabs, ITC-A on a declaration or open policy, so every despatch through the season is covered automatically without a separate proposal each time. Kishangarh moves continuously and per-consignment cover leaves gaps on the days nobody remembered to declare.
Why was my marble transit claim rejected?
Usually one of three reasons. The policy was ITC-B and the damage was handling breakage, which is not a named peril. Or the insufficient-packing exclusion was applied, because the loading and lashing was inadequate. Or the damage was not endorsed on the delivery challan, so the insurer could not establish it happened in transit.
Is loading and unloading damage covered?
It depends on when the policy attaches and terminates. Some wordings cover loading and unloading at the named locations and some do not. On stone this matters more than on almost any other commodity, because that is where the damage happens. Read the attachment clause, not just the peril list.
How much should marble be insured for?
The invoice value plus freight, and where the goods are being sold on, the value at destination rather than at the quarry. Under-insuring triggers average, which means a partial loss is paid only in the proportion the sum insured bears to the true value.
How long do I have to claim against the transporter?
Written notice within 180 days of the booking date under section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007. That runs from booking, not from the date you discovered the damage, and a claim bill is not a valid notice.
Related: Marine cargo clauses explained · Marble quarry insurance, Rajsamand · Marine cargo quote · Sum insured calculator · The letters to send after a loss.