MARINE INSURANCE COVER
Moving goods by sea, road, or inland waterways exposes your business to risks that are often underestimated until something goes wrong. Delays at port, damaged cargo, theft in transit, or a vessel incident can disrupt cash flow, strain client relationships, and create costly knock-on effects across your operations.
At Hallmark Risk & Financial Services, we arrange marine insurance cover that protects your ships, cargo, and goods in transit—from point of origin through to final destination. Our role is to help you understand where your real exposures sit and ensure your cover responds when it matters, not just on paper.
Why Marine Insurance Matters for South African Businesses
South Africa relies heavily on imports and exports. Whether you’re bringing raw materials through Durban, exporting finished goods via Cape Town, or transporting stock inland between warehouses, your business is exposed to multiple handover points and risk events.
In practice, claims often arise from everyday issues:
- Containers damaged during loading or offloading
- Goods stolen while parked overnight during inland transport
- Water damage caused by delays at port
- Machinery arriving unusable after a long sea voyage
Marine insurance is designed to protect against these realities. It provides financial certainty when external factors—often outside your control—interrupt the movement of goods or damage valuable assets.
What Our Marine Insurance Covers
We structure marine insurance around how your business actually operates, not a one-size-fits-all policy. Cover can be arranged on a standalone basis or integrated with your wider commercial insurance programme.
Marine Hull Insurance
Marine Hull Insurance covers damage to or loss of the vessel itself. This includes ships, motorboats, and other watercraft while in use on water, laid up, or during transit to and from a lake, harbour, or port.
Cover can extend to outboard motors and ancillary equipment—items that are frequently overlooked but expensive to replace. For vessel owners, this cover protects a core business asset and helps avoid long periods of downtime after an incident.
Marine Cargo Insurance (Imports & Exports)
Marine Cargo Insurance covers loss or damage to goods while in transit, whether imported or exported. Cover typically runs on a warehouse-to-warehouse basis, starting from the point of dispatch and ending once goods reach their final destination.
This is particularly important where responsibility for goods shifts between suppliers, freight forwarders, and transport providers. Properly structured cargo cover ensures you’re not left trying to recover losses through lengthy disputes or contractual grey areas.
Inland Transit Insurance
Not all transit risk happens at sea. Inland Transit Insurance covers goods while being transported by land within South Africa.
This is especially relevant for businesses moving stock between warehouses, retail locations, or manufacturing sites. Accidents, theft, and damage during road transport are common claim triggers, and inland cover helps ensure these events don’t derail your operations or margins.
Stock Throughput Insurance
For businesses with complex supply chains, Stock Throughput Insurance offers a more streamlined solution. Instead of separate policies for storage, transit, and distribution, this cover insures goods throughout the entire supply chain.
From raw materials to work-in-progress to finished products, stock throughput provides continuous protection as goods move through production, storage, and delivery. It simplifies administration and reduces gaps that can arise between traditional policies.
Marine Advance Loss of Profits & Containers
When cargo or vessels are damaged, the financial impact often goes beyond the immediate loss. Marine Advance Loss of Profits cover helps protect anticipated income where delays or insured events affect your ability to trade.
Container cover can also be arranged to protect against loss or damage to owned or leased containers—an area where liabilities are often misunderstood until a claim arises.
Who Should Consider Marine Insurance?
Marine insurance is essential for:
- Importers and exporters
- Manufacturers and distributors
- Logistics and transport businesses
- Wholesalers and retailers moving stock nationally
- Businesses relying on time-sensitive deliveries
If your business depends on goods arriving safely and on schedule, marine insurance is not optional—it’s a core risk management tool.
How Hallmark Risk Adds Value
Marine insurance can look straightforward on the surface, but wording, limits, and exclusions matter. We take time to understand how your goods move, who is responsible at each stage, and where losses are most likely to occur.
Our approach is practical and hands-on. We focus on:
- Clear explanation of cover and exclusions
- Policies aligned to contracts and Incoterms
- Access to reputable insurers with marine expertise
- Transparent communication throughout the policy and claims process
- We also support you during claims, helping ensure the process is efficient and outcomes are fair—something many businesses only appreciate once they need it.
A Trusted, Measured Approach
We believe marine insurance should provide confidence, not complexity. That’s why our service is built around transparency, communication, quality standards, and trustworthiness.
If you’d like to review your current marine cover or understand what protection makes sense for your operations, we’re happy to talk it through. The aim is clarity first, so you can make informed decisions that support long-term business stability.
When you’re ready, Hallmark Risk is here to help you protect what’s moving your business forward.