A road carrier liability insurance agreement concluded between an insurance company and a carrier includes the road carrier’s liability in accordance with the CMR and TIR conventions.

Road carrier liability insurance is a type of insurance intended for transport companies that provides cover to all carried loads up to the limit provided for in the CMR and TIR conventions. If goods are damaged or lost during transport and the carrier has incurred liability of compensation to the owner of goods, the insurance company compensates for damage in accordance with the international CMR convention provided that there exists road carrier liability insurance.

In case of haulage within a country, the liability of the carrier is defined by the Law of Obligations Act (Estonia) or similar legislation of the respective Member State of the European Union that does not exceed the limits provided for in the CMR convention.

Main restrictions on the road carrier liability insurance:

• in the event of the damage and destruction of goods, 8.33 SDR* for every damaged or lost kg, i.e. around  13 USD per gross kilogram of goods (if the invoice has a lower price, then according to the invoice);
• limited liability does not cover all risks, e.g. robbery.

We suggest that our clients take out additional voluntary cargo insurance that usually covers 100% of the cost of goods to be compensated.

Cargo insurance covers more risks than the road carrier liability insurance.

If no voluntary cargo insurance exists, the road carrier liability insurance, which is a limited liability insurance, shall apply.

*SDR (Special Drawing Rights) is a unit of account of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).