The wide responsibility of the CT operator (as well as other participants within transport, e.g., shipment agents) in terms of possible losses or damages to cargo and potential delay in delivery of goods, requires proper risk management in which insurance plays a key role. When insurance in CT operating is concerned, it can be divided into three main aspects: civil liability insurance, cargo insurance, and insurance coverage for employees.

Civil liability insurance of the carrier allows for a reduced responsibility of the carrier for possible claims of damages in connection to loss or damage to cargo, or delay in delivery of goods. Often such insurance includes the loss connected with robbery. It includes the timeline from the moment when the cargo is taken over by the operator until it is delivered to the principal. In Polish law (Article 80-82 of Transport Law) regulates the possible amount of the damages. Similar regulation is also included in Article 23 of CMR (Geneva, 19 May 1956). Such insurance should provide a guaranteed sum in the amount of total value of the carried goods or the amount declared in the bill of landing. In the case of civil liability insurance, the insurer will cover the loss resulting from carrier’s fault, however, they are not responsible for covering the damages resulting from the loss or damage of goods not dependent on the carrier. In the case of international transport, it is essential to include the whole delivery route.

Cargo insurance, in which the scope of insurance includes only goods transported, it is one the most complicated types of insurance in international trade. This is mainly due to the fact that it is necessary to precisely establish which party of the contract of carriage and from which moment responsibility is effective and for what potential damages. Another problem in cargo insurance is the diversity of means of transport used and conditions provided in a certain contract of carriage. In the case a sender and a recipient specify in the contract of carriage responsibility for potential damages, they usually include a regulation that specifies which party of the contract is responsible for the insurance. It is also possible that the parties of the contract of carriage choose rules to govern the issues of responsibility for cargo (e.g., INCOTERMS—international standards specifying  conditions of the delivery of goods.). In this case, however, the parties do not provide regulations of responsibility in the contract of carriage, appropriate rules of common law should be applied. In Polish law, for instance, it regulates in circumstances that the risk connected with losses or damages of goods is transferred to the buyer (i.e., recipient) at the moment of delivery (Article 548 of the Polish Civil Code), unless the contract of carriage states otherwise. When cargo insurance is concerned, differently from civil liability insurance, the scope of insurance may include force majeure (e.g., flood, hurricane, storm, etc.). Cargo insurance secures the interests of the owner (i.e., recipient) of goods, while civil liability insurance secures the carrier (including shipment agents). Such insurance may include goods in all types of transport—road, rail, air, and sea, as well as CT.

Insurance coverage for employees includes possible damages resulting from an accident, including death or injury of the employee. The standard scope of such insurance includes compensation, costs of treatment, etc. However, the above insurance will not cover the loss resulting from the employee’s fault.