A high-value claim with incomplete condition evidence
A lightweight valuable shipment arrives with damaged packaging and some goods affected. The customer believes the carrier’s liability policy automatically pays the full invoice amount and wants the packaging discarded immediately. The contract includes terms that were copied from an old form but whose incorporation and mandatory-law interaction have not been reviewed. The damage location in the multimodal chain is uncertain. A broad cargo-insurance label is available, but exclusions, interests, deductible, notice conditions, and actual cargo description have not been checked. The forwarder must preserve rights and evidence without promising a legal outcome. No actual statutory limit, notification deadline, or policy entitlement is supplied in this case.
1. How should the case be handled initially?
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Document actual condition, quantities, dates, handovers, reservations, and relevant photographs and packaging. Mitigate additional loss safely and use the responsible claims process. Promptly examine the actual contract, scope, applicable law, notices, and policy rather than invent a universal deadline or liability result.
2. Explain the protection distinction and a separate model deductible.
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Carrier liability and cargo insurance have different prerequisites, limits, and terms. Neither a high invoice nor a broad cover label guarantees full payment. In a separate stipulated covered loss of CHF 1,500 with CHF 200 deductible and no other limits, the model payment is CHF 1,300.