What does cargo insurance exclude?

Every cargo form reads differently, but these show up in some form on most of them:

• Unattended vehicle. Theft from an unattended truck is often excluded or covered only if conditions are met, such as locked doors, an alarm, or a secured lot. See the unattended vehicle exclusion and does cargo insurance cover theft.
• Reefer breakdown. Spoilage from a refrigeration unit failure usually needs a specific endorsement. See reefer breakdown coverage.
• Excluded or limited commodities. Many forms list commodities that are excluded or carry a lower sublimit.
• Wear, inherent vice, and improper packing. Damage from the nature of the goods or the shipper's packaging is commonly excluded.
• Delay and loss of market. Late delivery penalties and price drops are usually not covered.
• Scheduled equipment only. Some forms cover cargo only on trucks listed on the policy.

Under 49 U.S.C. 14706, an interstate carrier is liable for the actual loss or injury to property it transports, subject to limited defenses and any valid limitation the shipper agreed to in writing. Your cargo policy, by contrast, pays only what its form covers. When a broker-carrier agreement also makes you liable for full value, or adds penalties, the gap between what you owe and what the policy pays can be large. See how much cargo insurance brokers require and broker-carrier agreements.

Also note that ISO's standard motor carrier policy covers liability, trailer interchange, and physical damage; cargo is bought as a separate coverage, so its terms come from the insurer's own form.

Pull the actual cargo form, not the certificate, and look for: the per-vehicle and per-occurrence limits, the deductible, the commodity list or exclusion list, theft conditions, the reefer endorsement, and whether coverage follows scheduled trucks only. Compare that against the freight you actually haul. A flatbed hauling steel and a reefer hauling produce need very different forms.