What happens when there's a cargo claim, and how does it get resolved?

What counts as a cargo claim

A claim isn't only the extreme case. In practice, most cargo claims come down to a handful of typical situations:

• Physical damage: the cargo is knocked, dropped, crushed or broken during handling or transit.
• Wetting or contamination: water or moisture ingress, or contact with other cargo.
• Total or partial loss: packages missing at delivery, or an entire shipment disappearing.
• Theft or pilferage: in transit, at the port, in a warehouse or on the inland leg.
• Major events: accidents involving the means of transport, fire, loss overboard.

Whether an event is covered depends on the terms of the policy the shipment travels under. Proteus Cargo's coverage is broad, warehouse to warehouse, on any route worldwide and with no deductibles as the general rule of the program (perishable and refrigerated cargo cover is the exception and does carry a deductible for ordinary claims). It follows the goods from origin to final destination, not just the ocean or air leg.

First things first: the early hours matter

The strength of a claim is largely decided in the first hours after the problem is spotted. These are the actions that carry the most weight:

• 1. Notify immediately. Don't wait until everything is clear. Early notice makes it possible to arrange the survey, preserve evidence and meet the deadlines the policy and the carrier require.
• 2. Don't release or unpack the affected cargo. Leave the goods and the packaging exactly as they arrived: that's the primary evidence.
• 3. Photograph everything. Sealed container and seals, open container, outer packaging, damaged goods, floor and walls. Many photos, dated.
• 4. Get it in writing with the carrier. Note the exception on the waybill, delivery receipt or discharge document, and file the formal protest within the applicable deadlines.
• 5. Keep the shipment documentation. BL or air waybill, commercial invoice, packing list, insurance certificate, and any survey report or police report.

That file is what turns a problem into a solid claim.

How a claim gets resolved, step by step

When the shipment is insured with Proteus Cargo, the process looks like this:

• 1. Claim notice. The partner or their client tells us what happened, with the shipment certificate as the reference. From that moment the case is open and tracked.
• 2. Survey and loss adjustment. When the case calls for it, a surveyor or loss adjuster is appointed on site to verify the damage, its extent and its cause. It's a technical step, and it's what supports the claim amount.
• 3. Building the file. The shipment documentation, the survey report, the written exception with the carrier and the loss calculation are put together.
• 4. Technical assessment against the policy. We analyze whether the event and its consequences are covered by the terms in force. This is where having broad, well-drafted coverage matters: it's the difference between a claim that moves forward and one that gets argued.
• 5. Determining the indemnity. The amount payable is set based on the insured value and the substantiated loss. As a general rule of the program there is no deductible, so the client doesn't absorb an initial slice of the loss; perishable and refrigerated cargo does carry a deductible on ordinary claims.
• 6. Payment to the insured. If the claim is upheld, the client receives the indemnity and recovers what was lost.
• 7. Recovery against third parties, if applicable. Where there's a responsible party —carrier, port operator, warehouse— pursuing recovery is the insurer's job; the client's part is to preserve its rights against the carrier —hence the timely protest— and cooperate with the paperwork, not to fight that battle.

Who does the work when you're a Proteus Cargo partner

This is the point freight forwarders and customs brokers usually care about most: the claim doesn't land on your team.

• You notify; we handle it. Your role is to report the event and help get the shipment documentation across —documentation you already have in your operation.
• Proteus Cargo runs the case. We coordinate the survey, build the file, hold the technical argument with the insurer and follow through to closure.
• International backing behind it. The coverage is backed by world-class insurers and reinsurers, with policies placed in the markets of London, Germany and France. That provides response capacity when the amount is large.
• A clear stance: in the client's favor. We respond fast and firmly. A client with a claim is the priority.

The commercial consequence is direct: the claim —which on an uninsured shipment becomes a conflict with you— turns into proof that your service protected your client.

Why the quality of the coverage only shows at claim time

All policies look alike while nothing goes wrong. The difference shows up on claim day, and it comes down to three things:

• How the coverage is drafted. Warehouse-to-warehouse coverage also protects the inland legs and storage periods, where a good share of damage and theft occurs.
• No deductibles as the general rule of the program — perishable and refrigerated cargo cover is the exception and does carry a deductible for ordinary claims. With no deductible, the client doesn't absorb the first portion of the loss. On partial damage —the most frequent kind— that difference is significant.
• Who pushes the claim. A policy with no one to defend it technically is only half a promise. Having claims handled by Proteus Cargo is part of the product, not an add-on.

The three mistakes that most complicate a claim

• 1. Signing a clean receipt. With no reservation on record, the claim starts out weakened.
• 2. Notifying late. Deadlines against the carrier are short and can't be recovered.
• 3. Repairing, moving or discarding the cargo before inspection. It destroys the evidence the surveyor needs to see.

None of the three has anything to do with coverage. They have to do with the first two days.

In summary

When a cargo claim happens, the path is: notify quickly, document properly, get a written exception with the carrier, and let the claim be handled professionally. Under the Proteus Cargo partner program, that last step —the heaviest one— is ours: we coordinate the survey, build the file and hold the claim with international backing, on broad, warehouse-to-warehouse coverage, on any route worldwide and with no deductibles as the general rule of the program — perishable and refrigerated cargo cover is the exception and does carry a deductible for ordinary claims. It's the same operation with which we insure over 12,000 shipments a year across the 7 Latin American countries where we have a commercial presence.

Want to know how this would look in your operation? Book a 30-minute meeting, no strings attached: book here.