CARGO INSURANCE

Often times, your Booth or Tradeshow material are an important asset to your company.  You may exhibit in several shows throughout the year which will have a direct impact on your future sales.  We are all human and accidents or mistakes occur in every industry, especially the Transportation Industry.  Should you consider taking steps to help protect your assets?  After all, you insure your House, your Auto, your Health and even your Life…….why wouldn’t you insure your companies asset’s?

Before you decide whether to insure your goods or not, the first and foremost thing is to ensure that your goods are “Properly Packaged.”  NMFC provides specific guidelines as to how certain commodities should be packed.  Have you ever noticed that when you buy a TV or computer, it is not just in a box.  It has foam inserts to protect it from shock, it may have an “Inner” and “Outer” box to help protect it from damage.  Any material or “Booth Accessories” should be packaged in the same manner they were when originally purchased.  If it is a sample of something you sell, it should be packaged in the same manner you would ship it to a customer that just purchased it.  Often times we see Exhibitors trying to consolidate space.  They might put 2 LED’s in one box or pack a bunch of loose items in a box.  The end result is often damage from these objects bouncing around off of each other.  Please keep in mind that freight that moves as “Less Than Truckload or LTL” is often trans-loaded multiple times.  This means that it is loaded and unloaded from one truck to another along various points in its route.  Here are a couple of guidelines for the proper packaging of your goods;

• Utilize a lockable crate whenever possible.  This ensures that all of your material will stay together.  This also makes it very easy to recognize damage.  When a shipment is on a skid and shrink wrapped, often times the wrapping can hide any damage to the material. 
• If you do ship your materials on a skid, be sure that nothing overhangs the skid.  The length and width of the skid should be larger than your material.  If another piece of freight on the truck shifts, you want the skid to absorb the shock, not your cardboard boxes or booth panels.  Additionally, it is always recommended to utilize a dark shrink wrap so nobody can see through and gather a glimpse of your goods.

Now, on to the insurance;

Before we can insure your goods, we will require a packing list to be completed.”Click here to download”  the packing list, along with a sample of how it should be completed.  It is up to you to pack your goods properly and to list a value that you can substantiate should a claim arise. 

When no excess value is insured, liability is limited to $ 50.00 or $.50/lb., whichever is greater. Should you decide to insure your goods, the cost for exhibit material is $ 1.00 per $ 100.00 of insured

value ($ 75.00 minimum). Deductible on all insured shipment is $ 1,500.00.  For “Non-Tradeshow” material, a special quote may apply.