Chaucer has launched a US cargo insurance program aimed at strategic theft, the fraud-driven form of freight crime that has more than doubled losses for shippers and logistics firms this year.
The program is run by Indemni, a freight risk management platform that has been approved as a Lloyd's coverholder with sponsorship from Chaucer Syndicate 1084. Chaucer leads the program, with additional capacity from Aviva, Atrium, Blenheim and Talbot. Indemni underwrites on the syndicates' behalf.
The product covers US land-transit risks, with contingent cargo liability limits of up to $1 million and single-trip transit cover of up to $15 million per shipment. It also offers standalone strategic theft cover, designed to respond to fictitious pickups and impersonation fraud.
Indemni has separately raised $4 million from Field Ventures and Diagram Ventures in its latest funding round.
The launch comes as cargo crime shifts away from physical break-ins towards deception. Verisk CargoNet recorded 677 supply chain theft incidents across the US and Canada in the second quarter of 2026, down 26% year on year. But estimated losses more than doubled, to $304.6 million from $135.7 million.
Traditional theft events fell sharply, from 488 to 378, while fictitious pickups barely moved, slipping from 165 to 158. CargoNet said business email compromise remained the main entry point for the most sophisticated schemes, as Insurance Business reported in its look at why cargo theft losses are rising.
Indemni argues the value at stake is also climbing. It says the build-out of AI infrastructure means single trailer loads of chips, servers and data center hardware can now be worth up to $15 million. CargoNet has also identified enterprise computer equipment as a growing target.
"Cargo theft is an established marine risk, but the methods being used are becoming increasingly sophisticated and evolving beyond traditional physical theft," said Simon Schnorr (pictured, left), head of marine and energy at Chaucer.
Indemni's pitch is that underwriting should reward controls that stop fraudulent pickups before freight leaves the dock. Its platform runs more than 18 automated checks across a shipment's journey. It verifies who is collecting the load, confirms equipment details, checks documents, gathers photographic evidence and tracks shipments in real time. Every check is stored in an audit trail that can support shipper reviews and claims.
The company said existing carrier-vetting tools confirm a carrier's credentials at booking, but not whether the person arriving at the facility is the assigned driver. It said its platform has protected more than $3 billion in cargo value so far in 2026.
Winnie Hartigan, deputy underwriter for marine specialty at Chaucer, said strategic theft required a different underwriting approach, because the controls around a shipment can materially change the quality of the risk.
"We are setting the new standard for freight insurance by linking over-the-road intelligence directly to underwriting," said Zach En'Wezoh (pictured, right), Indemni's chief executive.
For brokers placing cargo and transportation risks, the program addresses a real gap. Indemni said many insurers have responded to strategic theft with exclusions, rate increases or withdrawal from high-value cargo altogether. It distinguishes its own wording from policies that simply delete a theft exclusion without expressly granting cover. Affirmative strategic theft cover with stated limits is easier to explain to clients than silent cover that may be disputed after a loss.
The trade-off is that cover is tied to controls. Freight brokers, third-party logistics providers and shippers will need to adopt Indemni's verification process to benefit, and brokers should check how a failed or skipped check would affect a claim.
The model reflects a wider pattern at Lloyd's. Chaucer has backed several technology-led coverholders in specialist lines this year, betting that real-time data can make hard-to-place risks insurable.
Whether that holds for cargo will depend on whether verification can keep pace with criminals who are already adapting their methods.
