Insurance

Ad valorem insurance, explained

What ad valorem cover actually covers, how it differs from a carrier’s liability, and when you decide whether to take it out.

Ad valorem insurance is offered as an option: you decide, shipment by shipment, whether to take it out. It costs 1% of the declared value, with a €10 minimum per shipment.

What is “ad valorem” insurance?

“Ad valorem” means “according to value”. It describes insurance whose compensation is calculated on the declared value of the goods being transported, rather than on a flat rate per kilo.

The declared value is the real commercial value of the bottles shipped — the figure that appears on the commercial invoice travelling with the shipment. It is the basis of the cover, and it is what an insurer will ask you to substantiate in the event of a claim.

Cover applies to events occurring in transit — breakage, loss, disappearance, damage — within the limits and subject to the exclusions set out in the insurance policy.

Why a carrier’s liability is not enough

By default, a carrier does not compensate the value of what it carries: its liability is capped per kilo by the international transport conventions. As an indication, that ceiling is around 26 SDR per kilogram for air transport (Montreal Convention, in its revision in force since 28 December 2024) and 8.33 SDR per kilogram for international road transport (CMR Convention).

For a six-bottle case weighing around eight kilos, that caps compensation at a few tens of euros by road and a few hundred by air — whatever the case contains.

For wine, the gap with the real value is almost always considerable: the weight of a bottle bears no relation to its price. A grand cru and an entry-level bottle weigh the same and would be compensated by the same amount.

Ad valorem insurance exists precisely to close that gap: it thinks in value, where the transport convention thinks in kilos.

Taking it out, or not: a decision per shipment

Ad valorem cover is taken out. It is offered to you as an option while preparing the shipment, and you remain free to decline: the question is asked shipment by shipment, based on the value of the bottles and the risk you are willing to carry yourself.

With Vastorg, it costs 1% of the shipment’s declared value, with a €10 minimum. The declared value must stay consistent with the commercial invoice: under-declaring reduces the compensation available by the same amount, over-valuing exposes you to a refused claim.

If you do not take cover, the shipment is not left without recourse, but that recourse is limited to the carrier’s liability and its per-kilo ceiling.

In the event of breakage, loss, or damage

A claim is won or lost on the evidence gathered in the first few hours. A few reflexes, whatever the policy:

Brief your consignee before delivery: they receive the parcel, not you, and they are the one who will have to record reservations.
Have the consignee record precise reservations on the carrier’s delivery note — the nature and extent of the damage — before signing.
Photograph the outer packaging before opening it, then the bottles and the damage found.
Keep the packaging and the damaged bottles: a surveyor may ask to examine them.
Gather proof of value: commercial invoice, purchase order, proof of payment.
Report the incident to us straight away: notification deadlines are short and run from delivery — or, if the parcel never arrives, from the date it should have been delivered.

Detailed terms

This page sets out how ad valorem insurance works in general. The sums insured, deductibles, exclusions, and notification deadlines that apply to your shipment are those of the insurance policy: they will be detailed here. For a shipment in progress, or a question about a consignment of particular value, write to us.