Specialist insurer Hiscox has launched a new Cargo API designed to streamline the placement of small cargo and stock throughput risks.
The digital solution, developed in-house, is available through broker partners and aims to address a gap in the market for insuring smaller value goods in transit and storage.
The Cargo API targets small and medium-sized businesses with global shipping and storage needs. It provides brokers with the ability to quote and bind eligible risks almost instantly, offering coverage for goods such as clothing, agricultural products, equipment, lumber, and finished items. The facility includes transit, stock only, and stock throughput options, with coverage limits up to US$5 million.
All risks are written on 100% Hiscox Syndicate 33 capacity. Hiscox developed the risk models, policy wordings, and API coding internally. The platform is backed by the insurer’s claims team, which will manage claims handling and settlement, the company said.
The solution is aimed at cargo risks that typically fall outside the focus of the London insurance market, which is more accustomed to handling larger and more complex placements. By offering a digital route to coverage, Hiscox said it is seeking to bring these risks into the London market while supporting broker partners in addressing client demand.
Aimee Nolan, cargo line underwriter at Hiscox London Market, said the product responds to broker requests for a mechanism to place smaller cargo risks that are often not served by traditional underwriting routes.
“This solution complements and balances our portfolio of larger, more complex and catastrophe-exposed cargo risks, while providing an easily repeatable template to develop other digital solutions for other coverholders where Hiscox has the risk appetite,” Nolan added.
Meanwhile, Huw Davies, executive director at Price Forbes, said the facility offers a new option for cargo owners seeking cover for smaller shipments, many of whom previously faced limited access to appropriate insurance solutions.
Price Forbes is the first broker to partner with Hiscox on the new platform, having developed the front-end interface that enables brokers and their networks to access the Cargo API directly.
