Goods in transit losses:
who pays, and how the loss is proven.

In November 2024, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda and the Uganda Revenue Authority launched the Integrated Local Marine Insurance Platform, making it a requirement for goods imported into Uganda to be insured by locally licensed insurers through that portal. The effect on transit insurance was immediate: cargo that had long been covered on overseas paper, with claims processed through foreign offices, moved onto locally issued policies with local claims handling. For traders and their assessors, one consequence follows from the other — transit losses are now settled inside Uganda, which means they are settled on proof.

Who is responsible when cargo is lost or damaged

Responsibility for goods in transit moves through a chain of contracts, and the first task in any transit claim is establishing where in that chain the risk sat when the loss occurred. Under a CIF (cost, insurance and freight) import, the seller arranges and pays for insurance up to the port of destination; under an FOB (free on board) arrangement, the buyer carries the transit risk and the obligation to insure. Between seller, buyer, freight forwarder, clearing agent and trucking company, different documents shift who bears a loss at any point — the invoice and packing list show what was shipped, the bill of lading or waybill shows who had custody, and the delivery note, signed on arrival, shows where the transit ended.

Where a loss is caused by the carrier — a trucking company that loses cargo to theft on the Kampala–Mombasa corridor, or a warehouse that mishandles goods at clearance — the insured has rights against the carrier in addition to the insurance policy. Preservation of those rights is itself part of every policy: insurers require prompt notice, evidence of steps taken to recover the goods, and cooperation in pursuing the carrier. A cargo claim can reduce, or at worst fail, where the insured's delay has destroyed the insurer's ability to recover from the responsible party.

What the cover responds to

Goods in transit cover is written in sections that define the perils: loss or damage by fire, lightning, collision or overturning of the carrying vehicle; theft, burglary or robbery; and damage while loading and unloading. Marine cargo cover is broader, extending to perils of the sea, non-delivery of entire packages, and what is known as particular average — partial loss or damage to part of the consignment. Conditions attach to each section: limits on route and conveyance, requirements on packing and securing, prohibitions on carrying undeclared valuables, and notification time limits that mirror the rest of the market.

The assessor's first check is therefore not the value of the cargo but the policy section, the declared route, the mode and timing of carriage, and the conditions that were written around them. A consignment lost during an undeclared re-route, or carried on an uninsured conveyance, fails at the cover stage rather than the quantum stage.

How the loss is proven

Transit claims rest on documentary evidence that begins before dispatch. The file that proves a cargo loss includes, in rough order: the supply contract and commercial invoice; the packing list and bill of lading or waybill; the certificate of insurance issued through the insured's own policy or the marine platform; the signed delivery note and the loads-manifest; and, where goods are missing or damaged on arrival, the condition survey, police report and any photographs taken at the point of discovery.

Two documents decide most disputes. The packing list establishes what was on the vehicle and in what condition; without it, the assessor cannot distinguish cargo lost in transit from cargo that was never loaded. The signed delivery note establishes what arrived; where the goods are delivered and signed for without reservation, the carrier's evidence of condition at delivery is weakened, and where a shortfall is noted at delivery, the claim has its anchor. For cargo that arrives visibly damaged, the measured practice is to note the damage and any exceptions on the delivery documentation before signing, since a clean signature followed later by a claim invites argument about when the damage occurred.

Assessing the loss

On a partial loss, the assessor verifies quantity and condition against the packing list and delivery records, and values the damaged or missing portion at CIF or invoice terms under the policy's basis of settlement. On a theft loss, the assessment extends to the security of the transit — whether the truck stopped in unsecured locations, whether the cargo was attended during rest periods, and whether the reported circumstances sit sensibly with the damage pattern at the scene. On a total loss of the vessel or vehicle itself, the file turns on proof of the goods' being on board at the time of the casualty.

In every instance the same disciplines hold: engage the assessor at first notice while the evidence is intact, keep every document from contract to delivery, report to police promptly where theft is involved, and cooperate with the carrier's interests if the insurer intends to pursue recovery. The regulator's expectation, reflected in the counselling offered to traders at the marine platform launch, is prompt and efficient claims processing — and processing is only as prompt as the evidence allows.