Marine, Air, and Storage Insurance for Shipping to Israel and Moving from Israel

Shipping insurance covers you from packing in your home to unpacking at your destination, subject to the conditions of the policy.  It is sold as a percentage of insured value and rates vary depending on the deductible and other factors.

Valued Inventory-- list of goods with replacement values at destination

Though it is better to make a valued inventory, you have the option of insuring for a minimum of $8 per lb. without one.     An average shipment weighs 7lbs per cubic ft., so a shipment of 1000 cubic feet without a valued inventory, would have to be insured for a minimum of 7lbs *1000 cubic feet * $8 = $56,000.      With or without a valued inventory, any items to be insured for more than $1000 must be separately and individually listed.

Since coverage begins with pickup and receipt of goods delivered directly to warehouse, you are required to submit the insurance list before pickup and before receipt of goods delivered directly to warehouse.    If you submit the final list after pickup, there is a $75 additional charge, and damage which occurred before the full payment for the insurance and final list of insured items and values were received will not be covered.  There may be back and forth, until you decide on a final insurance list and special items are approved, so please submit it as early as possible.    High value art, carpets, collections, silver, instruments may be subject to special premiums, conditions, and deductibles.

If you choose not to insure with standard, all-risk marine insurance, you will be insured and billed for total loss only.

Click here to see a sample Marine Insurance Policy.

Marine Insurance Form and Instructions

Click here for instructions for Filing a Claim

Marine Insurance for shipments from Israel are billed at 2.7% for $150 deductible.

Except for those in hard cases or pianos insured for less than  5,000, instruments not in hard cases,  must be crated to be insured.

*2.5% means the cost for insurance is $25 for each $1,000 insured. There is a minimum premium of $65.

Additional coverage for specific items and special circumstances is available at extra cost.

Valued Inventory / Insurance List

Before goods are picked up and before goods delivered directly to warehouse are received, Kef needs a detailed list of all your goods with replacement values at destination.   Goods shipped to Israel should use the multiples in the chart below.  Goods shipped to North America should be insured at the NA value.    

Please submit this list in Excel format; there will be a fee for lists that we must convert to Excel.

*You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of your valued inventory.

Kef has absolutely no liability to compensate you for damages or loss of any kind, though we will help you make an insurance claim for properly insured goods.

Please note: Replacement for a well-used object does not mean the cost of going out and buying the same thing brand new or in mint condition.

It means replacing the same/similar item in the same/similar condition.

*If you insure for less than full value you will be underpaid for any claim, proportionally. The purpose of insurance is to cover you against loss or damage to your goods, so if you do not insure goods, or do not insure them on time, or do not insure them accurately as to description or value, or do not submit your insurance claim correctly, you are self-insured and Kef has no responsibility for damage or loss to your shipment. (See below for section on Self-Insurance.)

Your goods are insured once you present a detailed valued inventory to Kef. Until that time, your goods are uninsured and damage/loss is your responsibility.

If it is on the list, it's assumed to be insured for 100% of its replacement (in current condition) value at destination.

If it’s not on the list, it is not insured, and items in a set are assumed to be of equal value, unless you specify otherwise.

*Make separate lists if a portion of your goods are to be stored and another part delivered.

*To assure insurance coverage of surface damage and denting of used items take pictures and make sure the packer records any scratches or other damage on the packing list.

Questions to ask yourself as you make up the list:

1. Have you supplied brand, model, and approximate age of all electrical goods?
2. Have you supplied approximate age for everything?
3. Have you used standard multiples to get to replacement value at destination?

What to avoid:

• Insuring some, but not all, of several similar boxes. Whatever is damaged you may be tempted to say, "Oh, yes, that was the insured box." 
  BETTER: insure all the boxes or give specific list of unique contents of the boxes you do insure.
• Insuring a box of goods of widely varied values for one price. Ten items insured as a box for $100 would, by default, be valued at $10 each. 
  BETTER: Subdivide – give specific values for everything, or at least for the more valuable items.

Items in a set are also assumed to be of equal value, unless you specify otherwise. For example, a dining room set of 7 pieces insured for $700 gives each piece a value of $100. A better breakdown would be:
1 Table -- $350
2 Armchairs -- $150 ($75 each)
4 Chairs -- $200 ($50 each)

The same idea applies for dishes:
1 Soup Tourine -- $100
10 Dinner Plates -- $150 ($15 each)
10 Saucers -- $50 ($5 each)

An easier way may be to assign relative values: serving platter = 4x, dinner plate = 3x, salad plate = 2x, saucer = x, cup = x. Simply give a value for the entire set, the value for one cup, the number of place settings, and what is included in each setting.

Personal papers can be valued by the box. Insurance will cover the entire box if it gets lost or the boat sinks...IF you insure it.

1. Condition of goods: Take pictures and make certain the packer records the condition of goods on the packing list.
2. Boxes you pack yourself: Don’t put breakables in them. These are listed by the shipper as PBO = packed by owner. They are covered for loss and theft only – and only if you submit to the insurer a detailed, complete list of contents before pickup and before goods delivered directly to warehouse are received.  PBOs are not covered for breakage, chipping, scratching, denting, staining, tearing, or surface marring.
3. Previously packed goods: If goods were recently packed by professionals then present the invoice of packing to Kef before pickup. Otherwise be sure to UNSEAL the boxes and make sure the packers inspect and repack as necessary. There could be extra charges associated with unpacking in order to repack.
4. Valuables:   High value art, carpets, collections, silver, instruments may be subject to special premiums and deductibles. For silver, gold, antique, rugs, furs, collectibles or art objects insured for more than $1500 per item/set in case of a claim. This may consist of:
   1. An invoice of purchase
   2. A previous insurance policy listing those goods
   3. A statement from expert assessor
   4. A quote for replacement and a photograph of the original     

5. Delicates and Artwork:   Unless the packers are confident of alternative packing, the following items must be crated:  porous  items such as marble, glass, and granite, etc..   Any goods for which the packers strongly recommend crating must be crated in order to be insured. 
   
6. Musical instruments Except for those in hard cases or pianos insured for less than  5,000, instruments not in hard cases,  must be crated to be insured.
7. Extensions: You are covered for 60 days at the shipper’s warehouse in North America and 60 days in Israel. To extend in either case, the Importer must give notice and pay for the extension before the expiry date. The cost of extension is $2.70 per $1,000 per month. Neither the insurance company nor Kef has responsibility to extend without your timely request and payment.
8. Storage outside of the port: If you are storing your goods outside of the port in self-storage, your marine insurance will end. The difference between self-storage and commercial storage is that in self storage, you get a key and easy access. In commercial storage, you have no key, very limited access, and, often, a warehouse supervisor checking the inventory of goods going in and out. Commercial storage is sometimes billed on a net basis (you are billed by the measured space of your goods), while self-storage is billed on a gross/brut basis (you pay for the entire space your goods occupy, most often by the room, whether or not the room is full). Still, self-storage is considerably less expensive and not less secure.
9. Signing the release: If the container seal is broken or any box or crate is open when you first see it, or if there is any sign of damage, write it on the delivery receipt. If the trucker does not have a receipt, make one up and keep a copy for yourself. Be as detailed as possible. In any case, write, "Contents uninspected." It is technically impossible to claim loss if the shipment arrives perfectly intact and you make no mention of shortage on the delivery receipt. You must check the pieces arriving against the packing list and record the results of your check on the receipt.
10. Claims process: It is technically, though not practically, impossible to claim loss if the shipment arrives perfectly intact and you do not note shortage on the delivery receipt. You must check the pieces arriving against the packing list and record the results of your check on the receipt. If goods whose value is over $5,000 are damaged or missing, save the evidence – both the packing materials and the broken items, even broken glass – until the surveyor comes.
    You have 45 days to register a claim. Then you have another 90 days to submit all the supporting documents. To begin the claims process, notify Kef and the insurance provider in writing (fax and email) and by phone. Your certificate of insurance includes a claim form which you must fill out and return. There is no surveyor for damages under $5,000; you need to supply local repair/replacement estimates. If likely damage exceeds $5,000, the insurance company will hire a surveyor.
11. Self insurance and/or declining to insure all-risk via Kef:  Kef will bill for total loss per the above rates, whether or not the customer has insured elsewhere.   Kef assumes no liability for loss or damage, and any claims, whether made by your insurance company, yourself, or any other agent would have recourse to Kef agents only – including but not limited to warehouses, steamships, forwarders, and truckers – and under no circumstances to Kef itself.  
12. Insuring less than everything: If you are not insuring all of a certain type of item, then you must be very specific about what you are insuring.

*Submit your insured inventory before pickup and before goods delivered directly to warehouse are received.   Final insurance lists and supporting documents received by Kef after pickup are subject to a $75 fee. Goods are not insured until the final list is received and paid for.

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