Goods in transit and carrier's liability
A carrier's liability is capped by statute against the weight of the goods, not their value. Everything between those two figures falls on whoever owns the cargo.
What it is
Two contracts live here that get confused daily. One is carrier's liability insurance, covering what the haulier answers for towards whoever entrusts the cargo to them. The other is cargo insurance, covering the value of the goods themselves, whoever carries them. They are neither alternatives nor duplicates: they answer for different things, under limits that are not even calculated the same way.
The reason sits in article 57 of Law 15/2009 on the inland carriage of goods: compensation for loss or damage may not exceed one third of the daily IPREM index per kilogram of gross weight. The cap runs on weight, not on value. A pallet of electronics and a pallet of bricks weighing the same have the same ceiling, even if one is worth a hundred times the other.
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At a glance
- Domestic cap, per kilo
- 1/3 IPREM/day
- International road cap
- 8.33 SDR/kg
- Scope
- Domestic and international
- Broker registered with the DGSFP
- J0140
Transport carries an asymmetry that surprises almost every consignor the first time they suffer a loss: the carrier's liability is capped by the weight of the goods, not by their value.
Article 57 of Law 15/2009 on the inland carriage of goods sets it out in three rules. Compensation for loss or damage may not exceed one third of the daily IPREM index per kilogram of gross weight affected. Compensation for delay does not exceed the price of the carriage. And where several heads concur, the total does not exceed what would be owed on a total loss.
The practical consequence is direct: a pallet of electronic components and a pallet of building material of the same weight share the same ceiling. Everything the goods are worth above that cap falls on their owner, unless they have insured it themselves. The worked figures are in the carrier's liability.
Two policies that are not alternatives
Which is why two contracts live in this area that are worth keeping apart.
Carrier's liability insurance covers what the haulier answers for. Its limit is the statutory one, calculated on weight, and it only responds if liability is established.
Cargo insurance covers the value of the goods, declared by their owner, regardless of who carries them and of whether anyone's liability is ever proven. It is what closes the gap between the statutory cap and what the goods are actually worth.
For international carriage by road the framework changes: the CMR Convention applies, with a ceiling of 8.33 special drawing rights per kilogram, notably higher than the domestic one. At sea and by air, different conventions apply with ceilings that do not match each other either — which on a multimodal movement means looking leg by leg.
Why through a broker
As a brokerage registered with the Spanish insurance regulator, the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones, under reference J0140, New Brokers acts on the client's mandate, not on any insurer's behalf.
In transport the technical work starts before the policy does: at the incoterm. It allocates who carries the risk and at exactly what point it passes, and from that follows which stretch is worth covering and by whom. Reading the sale contracts alongside the policies — rather than each in isolation — is what avoids discovering, with the goods already lost, that the risk changed hands on the loading dock at origin.
What is covered
Physical loss or damage in transit
Cover on the real value of the cargo throughout the journey, regardless of whether the carrier is liable and of what their statutory cap happens to be.
Carrier's liability
What the haulier answers for towards the consignor in cases of loss, damage or delay, within the limits set by the law governing the carriage contract.
Freight forwarder and logistics operator liability
The liability of the intermediary who arranges carriage without performing it, whose legal position and liability regime differ from the actual carrier's.
Open cover or declaration policy
The form that covers all consignments over a period through periodic declarations, instead of contracting journey by journey.
Intermediate storage in transit
Time the goods spend held at a terminal, transit warehouse or bonded store, which many policies cap at a maximum number of days worth checking.
Loading, unloading and handling
Operations at either end of the journey, where much of the claims experience concentrates and where the split of responsibility depends on what was agreed.
International carriage by road, sea and air
Each mode has its own convention and its own cap: CMR by road, and different regimes at sea and by air, with ceilings that do not match each other.
Refrigerated and temperature-controlled goods
Breaks in the cold chain, which require express cover and a temperature record in order to evidence the loss.
Theft and disappearance in transit
Common with goods of high value per kilo, with security requirements — guarded parking, two drivers — that condition the cover.
Salvage and forwarding costs
The cost of recovering, reconditioning or re-sending the cargo after an incident, which on international movements can exceed the damage itself.
Limits and deductible
| Item | Statutory cap |
|---|---|
| Loss or damage, domestic (art. 57.1, Law 15/2009) | One third of the daily IPREM per kg gross |
| Loss arising from delay (art. 57.2) | Does not exceed the carriage price |
| Concurrent heads of loss (art. 57.3) | Never exceeds a total loss |
| International carriage by road (CMR) | 8.33 SDR per kg |
| Cargo insurance | On declared value, not on weight |
The caps in this table are those set by Law 15/2009 on the inland carriage of goods and by the CMR Convention for international carriage by road, not the terms of any particular policy. The IPREM index is revised periodically, so the amount per kilogram moves with it. The cover, limits and exclusions of each contract are governed in every case by its specific conditions.
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Go to the client areaWhat is not covered
In transport, what falls outside usually has to do with the state of the goods before they moved, or with how they moved.
Inherent vice and natural deterioration: shrinkage, evaporation or ripening are not a loss event.
Packaging that is insufficient or unsuitable for the mode of carriage contracted, the most frequent reason for declining a claim.
Defective stowage where it falls to the consignor under the consignment note.
Loss of profit and commercial penalties for non-delivery, unless expressly covered.
Delay as a standalone head of loss under a cargo policy: delay has its own regime under carrier's liability.
Carriage of dangerous goods undeclared or outside the applicable ADR regime.
Theft from unguarded parking where the policy requires specific custody conditions.
Goods carried outside the territory or the mode declared in the policy.
When you will be asked for it
High-value, low-weight pallet
A consignment of electronic components weighing 80 kilos, invoiced at over fifty thousand euros, is lost.
What it means
The carrier's liability is capped by weight rather than by invoice, so it covers a very small fraction of the value. Without a cargo policy on declared value, the cargo owner absorbs the whole difference.
A break in the cold chain
A refrigerated consignment arrives outside the agreed temperature range and the consignee rejects it in full.
What it means
The argument turns on proving when the chain broke. Without a temperature record and without express temperature-controlled cover, the claim stands up poorly even where the damage is plain.
Goods held at a terminal longer than planned
A strike, a customs issue or port congestion leaves the cargo immobilised in a transit warehouse for weeks.
What it means
Many policies cover intermediate storage only for a limited number of days. Past that point the goods can fall out of cover precisely when they are most exposed.
How it is arranged
Mapping the real flow of goods
We review what moves, at what weight and value per consignment, by which modes and routes, under which incoterms, and which stretch is whose responsibility.
Separating liability from cargo cover
We work out what carrier's liability should cover and what cargo insurance should. Conflating them is what leaves the gap between the statutory cap and real value.
Choosing the form and placing it
We compare open cover against journey-by-journey depending on frequency, and negotiate intermediate storage periods, custody conditions and temperature cover where relevant.
Issue, declarations and claims handling
We issue the policy, set up periodic declarations where it is open cover, and represent you in the claim, which in transport usually involves several parties at once.
Covers that work alongside this one
General, employers' and product liability
The bailee section covers third-party goods in your custody, not goods being carried: the boundary between the two deserves to be written down.
Credit and surety
On an export sale, credit cover on the foreign buyer and cargo cover on the goods in transit protect different stretches of the same transaction.
Property damage and business interruption
Goods in your own warehouse answer under the property policy; goods in transit under this one. The handover point needs fixing.
Fleets and vehicle transport
Vehicle and cargo follow separate regimes: compulsory motor cover on the lorry does not cover the goods it carries.
International programmes
Each mode and country applies conventions with different ceilings, which requires coordinating local cover on multimodal movements.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a carrier pay if my goods are lost?
Less than most consignors assume. Article 57.1 of Law 15/2009 caps compensation for loss or damage at one third of the daily IPREM index per kilogram of gross weight affected. The cap is calculated on weight, not value, so with expensive, light goods it covers a small fraction of the loss. For international carriage by road the CMR Convention applies, with a ceiling of 8.33 special drawing rights per kilogram, appreciably higher than the domestic one.
Do I need cover if the carrier already has a policy?
They are different things. The carrier's policy covers what the carrier answers for, and what they answer for is capped by weight. A cargo policy covers the real value of the goods, regardless of who carries them and of whether liability is ever established. If your goods are clearly worth more per kilo than the statutory cap, only your own policy closes the difference.
What about delay in delivery?
It has its own regime. Article 57.2 provides that compensation for loss arising from delay shall not exceed the price of the carriage, and 57.3 adds that where several heads concur, the total will never exceed what a total loss would attract. In practice that means delay rarely compensates the commercial harm it causes.
Who insures the goods under each incoterm?
The incoterm allocates who bears the risk and at what point it passes, and from that follows who has an interest in insuring. Not all of them require insurance to be bought, and under several the risk passes to the buyer earlier than assumed. It is the first document we review, because it determines which stretch of the journey is worth covering with your own policy.
Are the goods covered while in storage?
During intermediate storage in transit, usually yes, but only for a limited number of days set by the wording. Storage at your own premises is not transit and belongs to the property policy. Customs issues and port congestion are exactly the cases where that period runs out without anyone noticing.
What information do you need to prepare a proposal?
A description of the goods with average value and weight per consignment, the number of consignments a year, usual modes and routes, the incoterms you use, conditions of storage in transit and the claims history. If you have a current policy, its specific conditions.
This information is for guidance only and is not binding. Covers, limits and exclusions are governed in all cases by the specific terms of each policy. New Brokers Correduría de Seguros, S.L., registered with the DGSFP under reference J0140.