Insurance against delay is advisable

JOY ORLEK IT’S BEEN a quiet claims season on the perishables front for marine brokers Prestmarine, but that’s more to do with the decline in volumes than improved risk management by its clients. “We have had a few problems with claims over the past season,” said marketing manager Susan Bester, “but these were mainly due to what appears to be substandard products and not problems during export.” According to Bester, inadequate infrastructure and subsequent delays – at the ports as well as airports – are at the root of most claims issues. “Our infrastructure is not as good as it should be and exporters run the risk of temperatures being set incorrectly as well as delays. "Insurance against delays is an extension to cover that they don’t always take because it is quite costly – our advice is to take out delay insurance, specially for products that are very temperature-sensitive like avocados. But bear in mind that no insurance policy can cover you against loss or damage that is directly related to the standard of the fruit or packing that is inadequate to withstand the normal transit hazards associated with an export shipment.”