GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 22, 2026
air cargo insurance
Unlike marine cargo insurance, which often covers entire shiploads across multi-week voyages, air cargo insurance is calibrated to the distinct risk profile of air transport: brief but intense ground handling phases, in-flight turbulence, and the particular vulnerability of high-value commodities.
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Source: https://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf
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Logistics concept
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Definition & Explanation
Unlike marine cargo insurance, which often covers entire shiploads across multi-week voyages, air cargo insurance is calibrated to the distinct risk profile of air transport: brief but intense ground handling phases, in-flight turbulence, and the particular vulnerability of high-value commodities. It covers loss, damage, or theft of a shipment from handover to the carrier through to delivery at destination. Shippers and consignees take it out because the air carrier's statutory liability under the Montreal Convention is capped at a fixed amount per kilogram – a ceiling that routinely falls short for electronics, pharmaceuticals, or jewellery. Premiums are calculated on cargo value, sum insured, transport route, and commodity class. Coverage becomes especially worthwhile when the declared shipment value significantly exceeds the carrier's liability limit.
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