2023-12-20 16:48:02
© Reuters Cargo insurance expenses increase 59% after new law, shows CNI
Industry expenses on road cargo insurance rose by an average of 59% due to the law that changed the rules of the segment, according to research by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).
The Special Survey of Cargo Insurance in Road Transport was carried out between the 1st and 14th of September, with 1,486 industries, of which 1,266 use highways to transport goods. Of these, 44% are already subject to the new standards due to new freight contracts. In this group, 52% noticed a price increase, 27% said the change was neutral, 19% could not say and 1% said that costs had fallen.
Under the new legislation, which came into force in June, only the transporter will be able to take out insurance. Contracting by cargo owners is prohibited. “The peculiarities of what is transported, including perishable and dangerous products, make the cargo owner’s participation in the management of transport risks special”, says the CNI in a note.
The exclusivity of contracting cargo insurance was established in MP 1,153/2022, later converted into law (Law 14,599/2023).
According to the CNI, the cargo owner has greater knowledge, compared to the transporter, about the risks involved in transporting the merchandise. Therefore, according to the confederation, the owner is better able to define the extent of the insurance, which is reflected in economies of scale, lower costs and more effective protection of cargo and third parties.
“Excluding the agent with the greatest knowledge about the cargo leads to substantial losses of information and prevents the risk from being distributed between the owner of the goods and the carrier, which is reflected in policy premiums, the price of freight and goods and, consequently, in Custo Brasil”, stated the director of Institutional Relations at CNI, Roberto Muniz, in a statement.
In addition to transferring responsibility for insurance to the transporter, the new law imposed the contracting of two more types of insurance: civil liability of the road transporter for missing cargo and civil liability of the vehicle. These factors make the flow of products even more expensive, says the CNI.
The perception of impact is heterogeneous due to the characteristics of the goods transported, the distances travelled, the capacity of the vehicle and the type of service provided, according to the CNI. And the repercussion of the changes has been gradually noticed by companies because the policies are valid annually.
Therefore, the impacts will only be fully noticed after December 29th, when companies that are subject to the new rules will have to renew their insurance contract. In addition, there will be full regulation of mandatory insurance by the Private Insurance Superintendence (Susep).
The CNI stated, in a statement, that it considers the new law unconstitutional. Among the points violated are the principles of reasonableness and proportionality, since the measure extends to all transporters the exclusivity of taking out mandatory insurance on cargo.
“The entity considers that there is also a violation of other constitutional principles, such as non-intervention in the economy and competition law, by encouraging concentration in the road freight transport market in the hands of large carriers, which makes it possible to increase arbitrary profits”, said the entity.
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