OCP is a carrier’s civil liability insurance resulting from commercial road transport of goods. It is concluded on the basis of a contract with an insurance company, usually for a period of 12 months. OCP insurance is voluntary, but it is worth having it, as it is often a requirement made by the customers of transport companies.

What are the benefits of OCP?

The policy guarantees the carrier’s insurance against non-performance or improper performance of the contract of carriage (theft, damage or destruction of the goods, delayed delivery). At the same time, it gives people using the services of a given transport company certainty and safety, and guarantees the chance of getting compensation in the event of damage. Customers look at whether carriers are insured. It gives them a sense of comfort and quality of services. Individual insurance companies have different responsibilities, although in reality their offer does not differ much. Most insurance companies protect the insured against the effects of destruction or damage to goods, e.g. as a result of an accident, breakdown, fire or theft from a guarded parking lot. Of course, the carrier and the driver of the vehicle have a number of obligations, the non-fulfillment of which causes unpaid compensation. This is a form of responsibility. However, there are also insurance agencies that guarantee protection even if the damage arose as a result of an intentional act or grossly culpable act, i.e. the negligence of the driver.

costs

Insurance companies often use different rules for calculating the insurance premium. The premium is usually calculated on the basis of annual net turnover from transport services. It’s about the principle – the higher the rate, the higher the insurance. It’s about the amount of the guarantee sum and the type of goods transported. The guarantee sum of insurance should cover the full value of the goods transported in one transport, or the value declared in the waybill. The policy price can always be negotiated with more favorable terms. Insurance companies also often specify the carrier’s own shares in the damage (reduction franchise). Personal insurance can often be cheaper, but in the event of damage, the entrepreneur pays part of the loss. Sometimes insurance companies do not take responsibility for the transport of dangerous goods and increased risk, e.g. medicines, money, documents, works of art, live animals, electronics, alcohol, tobacco, etc. Usually, for specific cases of insurance, i.e. additional insurance protection, are required higher premiums.

Not everyone buys such additional insurance. Before concluding insurance, always check the list only in the scope of basic insurance, i.e. cases in which the insurance company does not pay compensation. Most often it concerns the use of a faulty vehicle, the transfer of goods to an unauthorized person, improper loading or placement of goods, driving a vehicle by a drunk or unauthorized person, defects of hidden goods or their natural properties, entry to specific countries, confiscation or forfeiture of goods, parking the vehicle outside guarded parking lots . It is worth looking for such information on Internet forums.

Types of OCP

There are national and international OCPs (two territorial ranges of insurance coverage). Their difference is dictated by various legal acts contained in the Polish transport law and the CMR Convention in international transport. Both regulations specify a different scope of liability of an entrepreneur providing transport services and insurance companies adapt their offer of OCP policies to them. In short – OCP is a contract whose subject is the carrier’s liability insurance. The OCP policy allows you to transfer financial responsibility to the insurer in the event of damage. The Carrier’s Civil liability insurance provides insurance coverage for an entrepreneur who performs transport services in domestic or international traffic