Incoterms allocate cost, risk and obligation between seller and buyer — but they do not transfer title, and they do not by themselves determine who insures. The most common problems are structural: using a term designed for sea freight on a container movement that starts inland, assuming a term includes insurance when it does not, or leaving the named place vague enough that the transfer point is genuinely arguable.
The fix is unglamorous. Name the place precisely, check that the term matches the actual mode and handover point, and confirm the insurance position explicitly rather than assuming it follows. We review this on every contract, because the cost of getting it right is a conversation and the cost of getting it wrong is a claim.
Harbour Strategies (HK) Limited · 12 December 2023
Editorial commentary by Harbour Strategies. Figures and regulatory details should be verified against primary sources before being relied upon.
