OCP carrier - do I have to have them?

Ostania aktualizacja 7 March 2023

The carrier’s OCP is the carrier’s liability insurance. It is not a compulsory insurance, just like third party liability insurance, but more and more companies choosing their carrier pay attention to it and require the carrier’s OCP. It is therefore worth finding out how it works and why it is still worth buying.

OCP carrier – what is it?

Contents hide

1 OCP carrier – what is it?

2 How much does the carrier’s OCP cost?

3 Types of carrier’s OCP

4 Polecamy także

OCP carrier as we have already mentioned is the carrier’s liability insurance . This is insurance for carriers who provide road freight transport services, both in domestic and international traffic. The carrier’s OCP insurance covers the safety of both the driver who transports goods and the goods themselves.

The carrier’s OCP insurance, like liability for companies, covers non-performance or improper performance of the service for reasons beyond the control of the contractor. Thus, it covers damage to goods as a result of an accident, breakdown, fire or theft.

For example: One of your drivers was carrying an accident while carrying your contractor’s cargo. The truck skidded, and then the semi-trailer hit a tree and fell into a ditch. The transport included 100 pieces of the latest generation of TV sets worth 10,000 each. About 80% of the transported goods were destroyed. Losses amounted to approximately PLN 800,000.

If you do not have insurance, you must cover the losses incurred by your contractor in person. If you have one – with a properly structured contract – your contractor will receive compensation from your OCP .

However, as with any insurance and OCP, the carrier has certain exclusions. In this case, if when signing the contract it is not indicated that the transport also includes high-end RTV equipment, the insurance company may not pay compensation. That is why it is worth covering all categories of transported products. Compensation from the carrier’s OCP will also not be paid if the damage to the goods transported was due to your employee’s fault. Therefore, if the driver was under the influence of alcohol or unauthorized substances, he did not adjust the speed to the conditions prevailing on the road or he was otherwise guilty – then also the insurance company will not pay compensation. Therefore, when signing the contract, read carefully the GTC of the carrier’s OCP , i.e. the general insurance conditions and check what exclusions it has included in the insurance company.

How much does the carrier’s OCP cost?

The carrier’s OCP insurance premium is calculated individually for each company. It consists of many factors, but the most important are: the sum insured (the amount for which the transport is insured), the annual income of the transport company, the types of goods transported. However, it should be remembered that the insurance guarantee sum may not be lower than the value of one transport or the value declared in the waybill. Therefore, it is not worth undervaluing these values in order to reduce the rate in the event of an unforeseen event and it turns out that the transport had a greater value than the sum insured – the insurer will cover compensation only up to its amount, the rest will have to be covered by the transport company.

The rate will therefore be radically different if it comes to carrier’s OCP insurance for a family company that serves two or three clients in a small area, transporting agricultural produce for them and insurance for an international transport company transporting the latest generation of RTV equipment for several of the largest distributors.

The carrier has the option of negotiating the insurance rate. One of the possibilities to reduce it is to declare part of the costs in the event of non-performance or improper performance of the service. In this case, the insurance premium is reduced by the percentage declared when covering costs in the event of payment of compensation from the carrier’s OCP .

Insurance companies also often stipulate in their offer that insurance for the transport of dangerous goods ADR and increased risk, e.g. medicines, money, documents, works of art, live animals, electronics, alcohol, tobacco, etc. will be covered by a much higher insurance rate, or not at all will be possible. Therefore, it is worth spending more time consulting the insurance company and accurately determining all contract conditions. It is also not worth choosing the cheapest option for the carrier’s OCP insurance premium , as this often involves adequate protection, which means the transport company is exposed to unnecessary financial losses in the event of compensation being paid from the carrier’s OCP .

Types of carrier’s OCP

There are two main types of carrier’s OCP – national and international. The differences between them are dictated by, among others, differences in legal acts regulating transport law in different territories. Namely, various legal acts regulate the different scope of responsibility of an entrepreneur providing transport services in a given area and this is what insurance companies are guided when constructing contracts regarding carrier’s OCP insurance for a company that deals with international transport.