Legal Liability for Truck Cargo

Nuts & Bolts: The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. broadened and simplified its carrier-for-hire cargo coverage, which addresses a trucker’s legal liability when carrying cargo under contract. Key enhancements to the cargo coverage include, cargo recovery extra expense, substitution of vehicles, mechanical breakdown, increased limits for many coverages and the elimination of a number of exclusions. The cargo recovery extra expense is automatically included in every policy and provides up to $25,000 of coverage to resolve the issue of paying for the release of cargo after loss or damage occurs, thereby allowing final delivery to be made without delay. Substitution of vehicles is an optional coverage that provides the same level of coverage for a replacement vehicle if an incident prevents the original vehicle from fulfilling its delivery obligation. Mechanical breakdown is an optional coverage that provides custom limits for mechanical breakdown of refrigeration or heating units that could damage cargo. Coverages with increased limits include earned freight, which covers up to $5,000 in uncollectible charges for freight if a loss occurs during transit, reusable packing containers, which provides up to $5,000 per occurrence for loss to packaging material and debris removal expenses. Exclusions eliminated include wetness, poor or insufficient packing, unexplained disappearance, and shortage found upon taking inventory, among others.

Dollars: A broad range of per-conveyance limits from $100,000 to more than $1.5 million. Higher per-conveyance limits will be considered based on risk characteristics. Minimum deductibles of $1,000 Premiums typically range between $2,500 and $500,000 with some regional variations.

Carrier: The Hartford, rated “A+.”

States Available: All states.

Contact: Lauren Cutro Berry, (860) 547-3497 or Lauren.berry@thehartford.com

Topics Auto Trucking