Smile JV

Shipping Insurance

The cars we ship are insured under a marine cargo policy with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited, on Institute Cargo Clauses (A) terms — often called "all risks" cover. Smile JV is the named Assured on the policy. A car travels without our insurance only where the buyer has chosen to arrange their own cover and has paid for the car in full before it leaves the auction house or other seller (or our yard, for stock cars), where the destination country requires insurance to be arranged locally (Kenya, for example), or where the account holder has instructed us not to insure the vehicle. If a car is insured under our policy, this is shown on its invoice, so if you are not sure whether your car is insured, check the invoice.

Risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer when the car leaves the auction house or other seller (or our yard, for stock cars), or earlier if payment becomes overdue. Once the car has left the seller, the insurance is what protects the buyer. See the Insurance and Risk section of our Terms and Conditions for how claims before and after shipment are handled.

An insurance policy is a long legal document, and we know most people will not read every clause. So this page is our plain-English summary of what the cover includes, taken from the policy itself. If you want the exact legal wording — and in a claim, that is what counts — you can read a sample policy further down this page, and the full clause wording is published by Mitsui Sumitomo at ms-ins.com/cargo.

Please note

Smile JV is not an insurance agent, and this page is not an offer of insurance. It is our summary of the cover on the cars we ship. If anything here differs from the policy, the policy wording applies.

Scope of Cover

The policy is written on Institute Cargo Clauses (A).

  • Transit: cover runs from an interior place in Japan to the interior destination shown on the policy, by any conveyance.
  • Vessels: the ship must meet the Institute Classification Clause and be 1,000 gross tons or more. For other vessels, the insurer may change the conditions without notice.
  • Insured amount: 110% of the vehicle's CIF value.
  • Drive Away Clause: the vehicle is covered while being driven under its own power, or towed, to the final warehouse at the destination. This does not cover injury to any person or damage to other property.
  • General Average: the cover includes General Average (shared maritime losses), for example where a vessel emergency requires cargo to be sacrificed for the safety of the ship (ICC(A) Clause 2).
  • War and strikes: war and strikes risks are included, under the Institute War Clauses (Cargo) and Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo), on the conditions in force on the day the ship sails. In some circumstances the insurer may not accept these risks. War cover generally applies only while the vehicle is on the ship, and neither war nor strikes cover extends to storage in Japan before loading.

Storage in Japan Before Loading

While the vehicle is stored in Japan before loading, it is covered for up to 90 days from the day it arrives at the storage place (the Before Loading Clause). Limits per accident during this period:

  • Indoor storage: up to ¥40,000,000 per accident.
  • Outdoor yard storage: up to ¥20,000,000 per accident.

During this storage period, the policy does not cover loss or damage caused by:

  • earthquake, volcanic eruption or tsunami, including fire and other accidents resulting from them;
  • unexplained disappearance or inventory shortages;
  • terrorism, or any person acting from a political, ideological or religious motive;
  • war or strikes.

Exclusions and Excess

  • Excess: an excess of 3% of the insured amount of the damaged vehicle or ¥100,000, whichever is higher, applies to breakage, bending and denting.
  • Excluded damage types: scratching, rust, oxidation and discoloration are excluded.
  • Cargo insurance only: this is cargo insurance on the vehicle. It is not liability insurance and does not cover injury or damage to other property.
  • Under deck: the insurance assumes the vehicle is carried under deck, unless otherwise agreed.
  • Excluded areas: shipments to, from or through Ukraine (including the Donbas region and Ukrainian waters of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov), Belarus, and Russia within 200 km of the Ukrainian border or in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov are not covered.

Special Clauses

The policy also includes the Termination of Transit Clause (Terrorism) 2009, the Sanction Limitation and Exclusion Clause, the Institute Radioactive Contamination, Chemical, Biological, Bio-Chemical and Electromagnetic Weapons Exclusion Clause, the Marine Cyber Endorsement and the Cargo ISM Endorsement. Full wording is on your policy documents.

Time Limits and What to Do on Delivery

In our experience, most declined claims fail on procedure rather than substance. The policy sets out these steps:

  • On delivery: never sign a clean receipt when the vehicle's condition is in doubt. If you have to sign, add a written protest. If damage is visible, ask the carrier (or the port or terminal) to survey it immediately, and claim on them for any damage found. Our advice: inspect before the driver leaves, and photograph any damage straight away with clear, dated photos.
  • Container deliveries: have the container and its seals examined immediately. If the container is damaged, or its seals are broken, missing or different from those on the shipping documents, note this on the delivery receipt and keep the seals.
  • 3-day rule for hidden damage: if loss or damage was not apparent at delivery, give written notice within 3 days of delivery to the carrier, or to the port, terminal or other party holding the vehicle.
  • End of cover: under ICC(A) Clause 8, cover ends when the vehicle is unloaded at the final destination named in the policy, or 60 days after it is discharged from the ship at the final port, whichever comes first. It ends sooner if the vehicle is taken somewhere else for storage outside the normal course of transit, or for distribution.

How to Make a Claim

  1. Contact the Mitsui Sumitomo claims agent nearest you immediately, before any repairs, and arrange a survey. The policy states that no claim will be paid unless immediate notice is given and a survey report is obtained from Mitsui Sumitomo or its agents. Find your nearest agent at ms-ins.com/cargo.
  2. Notify the carrier in writing — the policy requires claims to be made immediately on the carriers, port authorities or other parties who handled the vehicle. Record this on the delivery documents.
  3. Contact Smile JV in writing. We will confirm who should make the claim and send you the original policy.

Documents and information you will need

  • The original insurance policy.
  • The original or a certified copy of the shipping invoice.
  • The original or a certified copy of the Bill of Lading.
  • The survey report.
  • The landing account and weight notes at the port of discharge and final destination.
  • Correspondence with the carrier or other parties about their liability, including any notice of damage given on the delivery documents.
  • Evidence of the extent of the loss or damage — for example photos, a description and an estimate of the repair cost.
  • When the damage was discovered, and when each party (including Smile JV and the carrier) was notified.

Keep in mind

There are strict time limits — please act quickly and contact us as soon as you discover any damage.

What a Policy Looks Like

Each insured vehicle has a Mitsui Sumitomo marine cargo policy document like the sample below (identifying details redacted). The conditions on its face state the ICC(A) cover, the excluded damage types, the excess, the 90-day Before Loading Clause and the Drive Away Clause described above; further conditions are "as per attached".

Sample Mitsui Sumitomo marine cargo policy for a Smile JV vehicle, with identifying details redacted

Click the image to open the full-size version in a new tab, where you can zoom in and read the policy conditions.

You will need the original policy in the event of a claim. The wording of the clauses applied is available from us on request.

This page is a plain-English summary prepared by Smile JV from our policy documents. It has not been reviewed by Mitsui Sumitomo. If anything here differs from the policy, the policy wording applies. English law and practice apply to the interpretation of policy terms, liability, and settlement of insurance claims; the insurance contract is otherwise governed by Japanese law.