Insurance Documents
To Protect The Interests of Importers and Exporters

Insurance Documents are ones, issued by the issuer, certifying that the insurer and the insured have signed an insurance contract covering the goods to be transported. If the goods under the contract do incur damages or even losses in transit, the insured can lodge a claim against the insurance documents.

Since insurance documents are the evidence of insurance contract between the insurer and the insured, they are mainly classified as the following four types:

Insurance Policy

This is a written legal contract between the insurer and the insured containing all terms and conditions of the agreement. It shows full details of the risks covered, and is also called fomal insurance documents.

Key elements of insurance policy are illustrated as follows:

• Name of the insurer with a signature identified as that of insurance company, or underwriter, or insurance agent.


• Name of the insured, both the seller and the buyer might be the insured if they have insured interest and with good faith.


• The insured goods which include description of subject matter.


• Type of risks covered which should be one of the three basic risks, i.e. F.P.A., W.P.A. and All Risks.


• Insurance provisions


• Amount and currency insured.


• Place of claim payable.


• Transport model and vessel's name.


• Port of shipment and port of destination. If transshipment is required, the goods should cover transshipment risks such as warehouse to warehouse clause including transshipment risks.


• Time and place of insurance.

Insurance Certificate

An insurance certificate is a document issued to the insured certifying that the insurance has bee effected. It contains the same details as an insurance policy except that version of provisions is abbreviated. If a documentary credit requires an insurance policy, issuing bank will refuse an insurance certificate for payment.

Combined Certificate

Combined Certificate is further simplified. The insurer here lists the risks to be covered, the insured amount and the policy number on the invoice provided by the insured, and the other clauses are to be seen on the invoice.

Open Policy or Open Cover

This is a pre-contract concluded between the insurer and the insured by which the insurer offers insurance to the insured for the consignments he dispatches within a certain period of time.

Open Policy is only applicable to the imported goods from foreign countries to China. As soon as the carriage for the consignment under the Open Policy is made, it is under the insurance cover of the Open Policy in accordance with the terms listed on the Open Policy.