CMA CGM to offer new line of cargo insurance products

The French ocean carrier is “starting a new concept: the commitment to compensate for any kind of unforeseen events,” CMA CGM said in a statement.    French container carrier CMA CGM Group is launching a new line of customer-focused cargo insurance products, including one that the firm says allows a quick compensation for businesses whose goods have been damaged or lost during transport for any reason, including natural disasters.
   The compensation product, the firm said in a Dec. 14 announcement, is called “Cargo Value Serenity,” and will provide a refund up to 100 percent of the value of the goods in less than 30 days and is just the first in a new portfolio of offerings known as “Serenity by CMA CGM.”
   “With ‘Serenity by CMA CGM,’ the Group is starting a new concept: the commitment to compensate for any kind of unforeseen events,” the company said in its announcement. ‘Serenity by CMA CGM’ allows businesses shipping their goods with CMA CGM to be more efficiently protected through a range of value-added products, which have been designed to meet customers’ expectations and needs.”
   The new range of products, which would help the firm diversify its offerings and revenue streams, is basically an insurance bundle. The offerings would relieve customers “of all the administrative and procedural complexities in case of unforeseen damage to their cargo,” CMA CGM said.
   The company has so far provided very few details on the range of products and has declined so far to state any user costs for the products, or when they will be available. Among the details released so far however, is that the product line is designed to be accessible to all businesses or individuals who need to transport goods in one or several containers, and will be an international offer that’s available worldwide at all stages of transport.
   The new offering is part of what CMA CGM is calling a ‘Customer Centricity’ strategy, which the firm said “puts customers at the center” of the shipping group’s development.
   The firm said that the “Serenity by CMA CGM” portfolio will be enriched in the coming weeks and that it will offer a product to cover costs in the event of damage to a container during handling as well as another product to compensate shippers in cases of payment default by their own customers.
   “By launching Serenity by CMA CGM, a unique set of products in the maritime transport market, CMA CGM completes its offering to customers for a more effective transport that meets their needs and expectations,” CMA CGM Vice President Elie Zeenny said in a prepared statement. “Serenity embodies the commitment of the CMA CGM Group to always innovate for its clients.”