Using your own cargo insurance

If you already have your own cargo insurance, you're welcome to use it on Prime Freight shipments. Just let your Prime Freight team know so we don't add our own cover, and send us a few documents that confirm your policy is in place. If you'd rather we arrange cover instead, see Why insure your cargo.

Tell us before your goods are booked or loaded that you're insuring the shipment under your own policy. This matters for two reasons:

• We won't add Prime Freight cargo insurance to the shipment, so you aren't billed for cover you don't need.

• We know not to declare a value for insurance on your behalf, which keeps your paperwork consistent with your own policy.

The simplest way is to note it when you request cargo insurance in the portal or when you approve your booking, and to say clearly that you're using your own policy.

Your insurer or broker can usually provide these quickly. We typically ask for:

• A certificate of insurance or proof of cover showing the policy is active and applies to this shipment.

• The insured value and scope of cover — confirmation that the goods (and, ideally, freight) are covered "warehouse to warehouse" for the journey. See Total Insured Value.

• Your insurer's or broker's claims contact, so everyone knows who to call if something goes wrong.

We may also send you a short acknowledgement or waiver to sign, confirming that you're insuring the shipment yourself and that Prime Freight isn't providing cover. Sign and return it, and you're set.

Using your own policy only protects you if the policy matches what you're shipping. Before you rely on it, check that:

• The route and mode (ocean or air, origin to final destination) fall within your policy.

• The insured value is high enough to cover the goods plus freight — not just the invoice value of the goods.

• The cover runs door to door for the whole journey, not just the main leg, if you need drayage or final delivery included.

If any of these fall short, it's often simpler to let us insure that shipment instead. See Why insure your cargo.

When the cover is your own policy, you file the claim through your insurer or broker, not through Prime Freight. We'll still help by providing the shipment documents you need to support the claim — the Bill of Lading, commercial invoice, packing list, and any photos or delivery records we hold. The general process is the same either way; see How a cargo claim pays out.

• Why insure your cargo

• How a cargo claim pays out

• Request cargo insurance in the portal