Heavy Lift — 2026-09-30
Maritime and Ports
The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has examined whether freight forwarding liability insurance should become a greater focus of its work, acknowledging the increasingly important role freight forwarders play in managing global supply chain risks.
Freight forwarding liability, according to the IUMI, is an important aspect of marine insurance but one that has continued to receive less systematic focus from the international marine insurance community than cargo insurance.
The IUMI highlighted the significant role that freight forwarders hold in global supply chains, that even more so against the backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions, conflicts, trade disruption and other supply chain challenges. Forwarders are having to think on their feet when it comes to helping customers navigate disruption.
Front and centre
“The logistics industry is very creative, flexible and innovative which continuously finds new solutions,” said Matthias Kirchner, underwriting manager marine Deutschland at AXA AL and IUMI executive member. “The freight forwarder is often at the centre of the supply chain organising and arranging all relevant activities for their clients globally. This is becoming increasingly a strategic role but unlike cargo insurance, there is no globally consistent wording for freight forwarding liability insurance.
“Legal and regulatory frameworks vary considerably between countries, while insurers generally use their own individual policy wordings. There might be a role here for IUMI to address some of these challenges and, perhaps, consider a platform for sharing information.”
Discussed at a workshop at the IUMI’s annual conference in Rotterdam [earlier this month/last month], the session also covered whether greater consistency could eventually be achieved through the development of a global freight forwarding liability insurance standard. The workshop noted that any such development would demand further consideration and would need to reflect the notable differences between individual jurisdictions.
Increasing risk management
The IUMI suggests that, as forwarders increasingly act as supply chain coordinators and use technology to predict and respond to disruption, effective risk management needs to go beyond the physical movement of cargo.
Areas requiring emphasis include organisational structures, operational risk management, subcontractor oversight, documentation and information management, contractual arrangements, incident and claims response, appropriate liability insurance and continuous improvement.
“For IUMI, the discussion reflects the wider evolution of marine insurance as global trade becomes increasingly exposed to disruption, geopolitical uncertainty and complex supply chain risks,” added Kirchner. “Freight forwarding liability insurance is relevant because it supports the logistics company to make the supply chains more resilient. It deserves much more attention because it plays a vital role in the development of global trade in a world of disruption, geopolitics and crisis.”
Last week, HLPFI reported that the IUMI had claimed that marine insurance supply is stable despite market shifts. It also suggested that marine insurers are critical to managing war risks to global shipping.