FTZ Operators Require Specialized Insurance Solutions

The Growth of FTZ Operators

In a recent report by the U.S. Foreign Trade Zones Board, the value of exports from America’s Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) increased by 13.7% in 2013, to a record-high of $79.5 billion* in merchandise shipped to overseas markets. In addition, the 2013 value of received merchandise into FTZs also topped the previous year’s record of $732.2 billion, reaching $835.8 billion – a 14.1% increase.

Furthermore, according to the group’s Annual Report to Congress, nearly two-thirds of the merchandise received by FTZs in 2013 was domestically sourced, with the value of domestic status inputs growing to $545.5 billion. The remaining $290.3 billion in received merchandise consisted of foreign status inputs, as cited in the report.

There was also a shift in the make-up of foreign status inputs received by FTZs, according to the U.S. Foreign Trade Zones Board. In 2013, a 16% decline in foreign status petroleum inputs was offset by increases in other product categories, such as vehicles, electrical machinery, and consumer products.

Does Your Business Require Customized Insurance?

All this increased activity is good news for FTZ operators, users and grantees. Yet without the proper insurance coverage designed to address the significant amount of liability FTZ operators face, you could find yourself with gaps or duplication in insurance policies, jeopardizing the continued success of your business.

As an FTZ Operator, you wear many different hats in your day-to-day operations, including maintaining a compliant zone and managing supply chain and warehouse operations. You have a legal responsibility for loss or damage to cargo while in your care, custody and control. You may also be responsible, depending on your operation, for physical loss or damage to product while in storage, damage to product while being packed/crated and after packing due to insufficient packaging/crating, product liability, theft or pilferage by employees or agents, fines and penalties by the CBP, errors and omissions liability, and contractual liability, among other exposures.

The insurance solutions you secure should respond to these and many other exposures involved in carrying out the services and activities you perform. At Roanoke Trade, we accomplish this by providing a seamless approach that blends several policies into one program for customized protection for the risks that your specific business encounters. Our insurance program is compromised of the key coverages you require to safeguard against liability claims. Coverages include: Bailee’s, Warehouse Legal Liability, Packers Legal Liability, Motor Truck Cargo (Asset-Based Truckers), Bill of Lading Legal Liability, Errors and Omissions, Extended Coverage for Regulatory Defense/Fines or Duties, Contractual Liability, General Liability, Commercial Crime, and Hired Auto Liability, among other key solutions.

In addition, when partnering with Roanoke Trade for your insurance solutions, you get the benefit of working with experienced and responsive customer service professionals. Should a claim occur, our Roanoke Claim Services unit provides expedited claims management services to facilitate a timely settlement and recovery outcome. You’re also working with people with unmatched industry experience, having served the logistic service providers and transportation niche market since 1935.

Take a close look at our insurance solutions and how Roanoke’s industry expertise and experience can work in protecting your organization. Please contact us at 1-800-ROANOKE.

*The $79.5 billion export figure is based solely on material inputs, and does not include the value added to those inputs by US-based manufacturers operating in FTZs.