Last month, a Shenzhen seller shipped 30 boxes of phone cases to Dubai. The boxes vanished during customs clearance. The forwarder offered only three times the freight cost — around $600. The cargo value was nearly $20,000. Big loss.
This happens all the time. The forwarder is not the carrier. It issues a house bill, and default liability is just freight charges. My guess: at least 70% of sellers on the Middle East lane have no independent cargo insurance. Relying on forwarders' promises is dangerous.
If you want to insure properly, remember three things. First, the insured must be your company, not the forwarder. Second, check deductibles — many policies only cover total loss, not partial. Third, ask for "warehouse-to-warehouse" coverage; airport-to-airport leaves gaps on both ends.
For example, a high-value electronic item on the Saudi lane costs roughly 0.1% to 0.3% of declared value. That's only tens of dollars per $10,000. But one missing POD can get a claim rejected. So always ask the forwarder to show the policy copy and check it line by line.
When was the last time you actually read a policy?