Jodhpur · furniture and handicrafts · export cargo
Marine Insurance for Jodhpur Handicraft and Furniture Exporters
Jodhpur's furniture and handicraft exports are bulky, fragile and made of natural materials, and they travel a long way by road before they reach a ship. Most claims on this cargo turn on three things: which clauses the cargo was insured on, how it was packed, and whose risk it was on the road to the port.
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What to know
- Breakage is covered under Institute Cargo Clauses (A), the all-risks set. Clauses (B) and (C) name their perils and do not cover breakage in ordinary handling.
- Even under Clauses (A), loss caused by insufficient or unsuitable packing done by the exporter is excluded. For fragile and heavy pieces, packing decides the claim.
- Inherent vice is excluded too. Mould or splitting in timber that was not properly seasoned is usually argued as inherent vice.
- Under FOB the exporter carries the risk until the goods are on board, including the road from Jodhpur to the port. That leg needs the exporter's own cover.
- Non-payment by the buyer is not a marine risk. Export credit insurance, such as ECGC's, is the cover for it.
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The clause set decides whether breakage is covered
Institute Cargo Clauses (A) cover all risks of loss or damage, subject to named exclusions, so a carved panel cracked in handling or a glass inlay broken in a container is covered. Clauses (B) and (C) cover only the perils they list, such as fire, stranding, collision and, under (B), certain water damage. Breakage in ordinary handling is not among them.
Under CIF the seller must insure only on Clauses (C) unless the contract says otherwise. A furniture exporter selling CIF out of habit is promising the buyer far narrower cover than either side usually assumes.
Packing and inherent vice: the two exclusions that decide these claims
Clauses (A) exclude loss caused by packing that was insufficient or unsuitable to withstand the ordinary incidents of the transit, where the packing was done by the exporter or before the insurance began. A sideboard wrapped in film and loaded without blocking, or ceramics without internal cushioning, will fail a surveyor's inspection before the policy is read.
Inherent vice, damage arising from the nature of the goods themselves, is excluded too. Wood that was not properly seasoned can split or grow mould in a closed container on a long voyage, and an insurer will usually argue that the timber, not the voyage, caused it. Moisture records and seasoning certificates are the evidence that answers that argument.
Wooden packaging must also meet the importing country's treatment rules. A consignment held or treated at destination over its packaging is a compliance cost, not an insured loss.
The road to the port
Jodhpur cargo travels by road or rail to a container depot or a Gujarat or Maharashtra port before it is loaded. Under FOB, risk passes to the buyer only once the goods are on board, so loss on that inland leg is the exporter's, whatever the buyer's policy says. An exporter selling FOB still needs cover from the factory to the ship.
Consolidated shipments add risk of their own. Goods stuffed into a shared container at a freight station sit next to other people's cargo, and damage from a neighbouring consignment is a common LCL claim. Annual open cover, declared shipment by shipment, keeps every consignment insured from the moment it leaves the factory.
When the buyer does not pay
A marine policy covers the goods, not the buyer. If an overseas buyer refuses the consignment or does not pay, that is a credit risk, and the cover for it is export credit insurance, such as the policies ECGC offers to Indian exporters.
Both covers belong in an export programme, and they answer different questions: marine cover asks whether the goods arrived sound, credit cover asks whether you were paid for them.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Jodhpur?
No. Our office is in Udaipur, at 784 Rani Road, about 250km from Jodhpur, and we advise Jodhpur exporters from there by phone, WhatsApp and email, visiting for inspections and claims that warrant it.
Does marine insurance cover breakage of handicrafts?
Under Institute Cargo Clauses (A), yes, unless the breakage was caused by insufficient or unsuitable packing done by the exporter. Clauses (B) and (C) do not cover breakage in ordinary handling.
Is mould on wooden furniture covered by marine insurance?
Usually not, if it arose from the timber itself. Insurers treat damage from the nature of the goods, such as unseasoned wood, as inherent vice, which all three clause sets exclude. Seasoning and moisture records are the evidence that counters it.
Who insures the goods from Jodhpur to the port under FOB?
The exporter. Under FOB the risk stays with the seller until the goods are on board, so the buyer's policy does not cover the inland leg. Cover it under your own marine policy.
Does marine insurance cover non-payment by the buyer?
No. Non-payment is a credit risk, covered by export credit insurance such as ECGC's policies, not by marine cargo insurance.
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