There are 3 types of marine cargo policies available. They are Open Policy, Annual Policy and Single Policy. Any one of these policies can cover shipment by sea, air or land conveyance.

An Open Policy is suitable for merchants who have regular imports and exports of goods and merchandizes worldwide.

The features of an Open Policy are:
1. It is a permanent policy and there is no need to renew it.
2. It covers all consignments made by you within the scope of the Policy and you are required to declare all these consignments to EQ Insurance.
3. It specifies the basis of valuation, the rates agreed with you and the maximum sum insured for any one consignment.
4. You have to declare each and every shipment, usually on a monthly basis. For each monthly declaration, a certificate of insurance will be issued and a premium charged based on the agreed rates.

If you want to avoid the hassle of making declarations, then an Annual Policy is another option.

An Annual Policy is similar to an Open Policy but its features are:
1. It is issued for a period of time, usually twelve months and has to be renewed on its expiry.
2. It insures all shipments made by you within the scope of cover of the Policy.
3. At the inception of the Policy, you declare to us the estimated annual turnover for the Policy period and pay a minimum deposit premium.
4. At the end of the Policy period, you have to declare to us the actual value of shipments made during the Policy period. The actual premium is calculated based on the rate agreed at inception and you will have to pay the additional premium, if any. The additional premium is the difference between the actual premium and the minimum deposit premium. If the actual premium is lower than the minimum deposit premium, you will not be entitled to any refund in premium.

A single policy is suitable if your shipments are infrequent or as and when you require such a policy. A separate policy is issued for each and every shipment made and for each shipment a premium is charged.

A Marine Cover Note is suitable where you need to import a particular consignment but you do not know exactly the shipment date. It is valid for a limited period, usually three months. As soon as a shipment is made within this period, you have to declare this shipment. A separate policy will be issued on this shipment and a premium paid based on the rate agreed at the inception of the Marine Cover Note.

Under the marine cargo insurance, the claimant can claim under one of the 2 insurance policies. It is then up to the insurer who has paid the claim to recover a proportion of his outlay from the other insurer.

Not very often. The incidence of General Average is more frequent with older or poorly maintained vessels.

No. An insured remains the owner of the cargo and must act responsibly.

Some policies impose time limits - others do not. As a general rule, the longer it takes to claim, the more difficult it is to prove that the loss occurred within the policy period. In addition there is a duty on the insured to preserve subrogation rights against third parties. Notices have to be filed within the strict time limits as spelt out in the bill of lading and airway bill.

The insured will need to refer to the policy wordings to be certain. As a general rule, changes of this kind are held covered. If there is a significant change in the risk, an additional premium may be payable.