Theft and Severe Weather: A Storm for Marine Cargo Insurance

In recent years thieves have become uncannily adept at using technology as a means to steal—whether it's money, private information, or proprietary trade information. Computer thieves are also taking their act on the high seas, highways, and elsewhere to steal cargo.

Over the past couple of years, industry surveys have reported a number of alarming cargo heists accomplished by means of tracking devices, hacks, fraudulent electronic communications, and computer generated (fake) shipping documents.

Another recent contributor to shipping risk is increasingly volatile and unpredictable weather. While what qualifies as "severe weather" may be open to some interpretation for purposes of shipping law, weather conditions certainly may have a much greater bearing going forward on whether cargo makes it safely to its destination.

These fast-evolving perils may have serious implications for whether a policyholder and other stakeholders have cargo insurance protection. Some cargo insurance companies are adding cyber exclusions and/or weather exclusions (or warranties) to their policies.