Policyholders are required to make insurance declarations. It serves to inform the Insurer of what is being transported, and thus ensure indemnification in the event of loss. For a very long time, this process was done manually, however, some years ago, legislation established the requirement for electronic insurance declarations.

This procedure was implemented by the CNSP (the National Council of Private Insurance) through resolution number 247, of 2011, which prohibits manual declarations, and requires daily electronic declarations. In 2013, the Insurers were forced to migrate to the new rules, as SUSEP (The Superintendence of Private Insurance) started to supervise compliance with this requirement.

Advantages of the Electronic Insurance Declaration

With this new procedure, the Carrier’s Liability insurance acquired several advantages. From the carriers’ standpoint, it helps to minimize eventual losses caused by typing errors and exchange of information. Additionally, the process became more agile.

Having integrated their transportation management system (TMS) with the standard system offered by the Insurer, the carriers are now able to easily issue electronic declarations.

All that has to be done is to enter the information of each freight in the transportation management system - TMS to automatically generate the declaration document. It is this system that is used to guarantee the indemnity in the event of a loss.

What should be informed in the electronic declaration?

As in the case of the manual format, the carriers have to inform the insurers of the main details of the freight and of the merchandise being transported. The main details that should be included in the electronic declaration are the following:

- Details of the vehicle and driver;
- Identification of insurance policy;
- Electronic waybill and respective access code;
- Product characteristics;
- Value of the cargo transported.

The most important item in the declaration is the value of the cargo. It serves as a reference in the event of a loss, and it must be consistent with the policy limit for the insurer to guarantee indemnification.
The electronic waybill (CT-e) is used to inform the intended course of transit, and the merchandise transported. It should inform if the freight involves perishable, chemical or fragile products, for instance.

Why should one adopt the electronic declaration?

The electronic declaration is a modern safety mechanism, and it should be adopted by all cargo carriers. Through it the information is transmitted more quickly, and this is important to expedite the payment of losses.

Now that you know more about electronic cargo declarations, how about getting a quote for your Cargo insurance from CredRisk Marine? Visit us at: http://www.credriskmarine.com/contact