Stevedores will normally need liability coverage broad enough to address the two basic areas of operations, namely loading and unloading of cargo and storage of cargoes. A stevedore is likely to have responsibility for the cargoes that they are handling and also for third party bodily injury claims resulting from the loading or unloading activity including any incidental movements of the cargo.

The main areas of exposure relating to Stevedores Liability Risk may be summarised succinctly as follows:

• Damage to cargo being handled, ranging from such things as damage to motor vehicles whilst being unloaded to the deterioration of produce due to the failure of a refrigeration unit.
• Damage to the vessel from which cargo is being unloaded, usually caused by the stevedore’s equipment.
• Damage to leased/hired equipment, it is common for a Stevedoring Company to supply personnel only and lease or hire equipment necessary to carry out their operations. The contracts for such hire or lease invariably create risk exposures.
• Contractual liability exposure, working within a port area any company will find itself required to sign contractual agreements regulating its relationship with the port authorities and other companies working there and these will create liabilities that must be covered.
• Third Party Bodily Injury and Property Damage, in the situations where other parties and/or their property can come into contact with the operations being covered.
• Errors and Omissions, attributable to a failure to provide the represented services or where due to the incorrect application of expertise a loss results.