Marine and cargo claims automation, with recovery built in
Cargo is the largest segment of global marine insurance at $22.64 billion in premium. It is also the most document-heavy line a specialty carrier or MGA writes - bills of lading, tallies, survey reports, logger downloads - and the one where recovery against the carrier is decided on package counts and time bars. Hesper AI handles the whole file in hours.
In short
Hesper AI's agents open a marine cargo claim from the bill of lading, survey report, and packing list, verify coverage and the terms of sale, value the loss, and screen every file against Carriage of Goods by Sea Act and Carmack limits for recovery against the carrier. Suspicious files get an investigation-grade workup.
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Where marine and cargo claims actually stall
Four problems account for most of the handling time and most of the leakage in this line: damage that surfaces after a clean receipt, cold chain losses nobody can attribute, counts that do not agree, and recoveries lost to a limit or a calendar. Hesper works all four on every file, with fraud screening built in rather than bolted on.
This page covers cargo written on a marine policy - ocean, air, and inland transit. If the loss sits on a trucking account instead, under motor truck cargo liability with the fleet, driver, and FMCSA evidence attached to it - see the commercial auto claims page.
Concealed damage and clean receipts
The container is signed for clean at delivery and the damage surfaces when the cartons are opened days later. Hesper AI reconciles the bill of lading exception notations, container interchange reports, seal numbers, and delivery receipts against the survey findings, and reconstructs which leg the cargo was in when the condition changed.
Reefer and temperature excursions
Temperature-controlled losses turn on data most files never assemble: the logger download, the booked set point, pre-trip inspection records, and the gate timestamps. Hesper AI rebuilds the cold chain hour by hour and attributes the excursion to a carrier period of responsibility, a pre-shipment condition, or a stowage failure.
Short-landing, pilferage, and theft
Piece counts disagree across the manifest, the tally, and the delivery receipt, and the difference can be a stow error, a pilferage loss, or a staged shortage. CargoNet recorded nearly $725 million in estimated cargo theft losses across the US and Canada in 2025. Hesper AI reconciles every count, checks documents for post-loss alteration, and maps consignees, forwarders, and surveyors that recur across unrelated files.
Recovery limits and time bars
The recovery is the point of this line, and it is lost on arithmetic and calendars. Hesper AI counts packages as the bill of lading describes them, applies the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act $500 per package limit and the Carmack Amendment on the inland leg, calendars notice periods and suit time bars from the delivery date, and tracks general average guarantees where an adjustment has been declared.
Manual workflow vs. Hesper
A cargo file waits on documents, then on a surveyor, then on counsel. Hesper works every phase the moment the paper lands, so the file is ready when the survey is.
How Hesper AI handles a marine cargo claim
Every cargo claim runs the same structured pipeline, from the first document to the demand on the carrier. Phases run in parallel where dependencies allow, and every output cites the document it came from. The last step is the recovery module, which runs on every file rather than the ones an adjuster flags.
Shipping document ingest and reconciliation
Master and house bills of lading, commercial invoices, packing lists, mate's receipts, tally sheets, container interchange reports, and delivery receipts are ingested together. Marks and numbers, piece counts, weights, and exception notations are reconciled across every document, and each page is checked for alteration at the pixel and metadata level.
Survey and condition evidence
The surveyor's report, photographs, seal records, and stowage plan are read against the reported loss. Hesper attributes the damage to a leg of the voyage - origin handling, ocean carriage, discharge, or the inland move - and cites the record behind the attribution rather than leaving it to inference.
Coverage and terms of sale analysis
The open cargo policy and its clauses are read in full alongside the terms of sale and the point at which risk passed. Insurable interest, warehouse-to-warehouse cover, deductibles and franchise terms, and any general average or salvage contribution are resolved into a cited coverage position for the adjuster to sign.
Carrier liability and time bar screen
Packages are counted as the bill of lading describes them and the COGSA $500 per package or customary freight unit limit is applied unless a higher value was declared. The Carmack Amendment governs the inland leg. Notice periods and suit time bars are calendared from the delivery date at intake so no recovery window closes while the file sits.
Recovery package and claim file assembly
A complete claim file is produced with the coverage position, the valuation, the evidence package with source documents, and a drafted demand to the ocean carrier, motor carrier, or NVOCC. General average guarantees and average bonds are tracked where an adjustment has been declared. Pursue or waive stays with your recovery team.
Global cargo insurance premium in 2024
56.7% of all marine insurance premium, the largest segment
Source: International Union of Marine InsuranceEstimated cargo theft losses across the US and Canada in 2025, up 60% year over year
3,594 supply chain crime events; average theft $273,990
Source: CargoNetDefault carrier liability per package under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act
Or per customary freight unit, unless a higher value is declared in the bill of lading
Source: 46 U.S.C. 30701 noteMinimum window a motor carrier must allow for filing a cargo claim under the Carmack Amendment
Plus at least 2 years to bring suit after written denial
Source: 49 U.S.C. 14706Marine and cargo claims automation, answered
How does AI claims automation handle a marine cargo claim from first notice to recovery?
Hesper's agents take the notice of loss, ingest the bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list, tally sheets, and survey report, reconcile the piece counts and marks across every document, verify coverage against the open cargo policy and its clauses, and value the loss. Clean claims resolve straight through. Every file is then screened for recovery against the ocean carrier, the motor carrier, the NVOCC, or a general average adjustment before it closes.
Can AI reconcile a bill of lading, packing list, and surveyor's report automatically?
Yes, and that reconciliation is where most of the manual hours in this line go. The agents read the house and master bills, mate's receipts, container interchange reports, discharge tallies, delivery receipts, and the surveyor's narrative, then line up marks and numbers, piece counts, weights, and exception notations across all of them. Discrepancies are surfaced with the page and the document they came from.
How does Hesper handle a reefer or temperature-controlled cargo loss?
The agents reconstruct the cold chain from the data logger download, the container set point on the booking, pre-trip inspection records, gate-in and gate-out timestamps, and the surveyor's temperature readings at discharge. Where the excursion sits inside a carrier's period of responsibility, the file is tagged for recovery. Where it points to pre-shipment condition or inadequate stowage by the shipper, that is flagged too, with the evidence behind it.
How does Hesper apply COGSA and Carmack Amendment liability limits to a cargo claim?
The agents count packages as the bill of lading describes them, apply the $500 per package or customary freight unit limit under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act unless a higher value was declared, and apply the Carmack Amendment to the inland leg. Notice periods and suit time bars are calendared from the delivery date at intake, so nothing ages out of a recovery window while the file sits. Coverage counsel keeps the legal position.
Can Hesper detect inflated or fabricated cargo loss claims?
Fraud detection is built into Hesper rather than licensed from another vendor. Invoices, packing lists, and survey reports are checked at the pixel and metadata level for alteration and for documents created after the loss date. Claimed values are benchmarked against the commercial invoice and market pricing, and repeat consignees, forwarders, and surveyors that recur across unrelated files are mapped. The finding and the denial decision stay with your team.
Does Hesper screen marine cargo claims for recovery against the carrier?
Every file is screened for subrogation and salvage before closure, not only the ones an adjuster happens to flag. Marine cargo is a recovery-heavy line, so the agents draft the demand to the carrier or NVOCC, assemble the cited evidence package behind it, track general average guarantees and average bonds where an adjustment has been declared, and keep the time bars visible. The decision to pursue or waive stays with you.
Go deeper on cargo claims and recovery
Research, technical deep-dives, and playbooks from the Hesper AI team.
See Hesper handle your cargo claims
We'll run a sample file on your real cargo claims and show you the evidence package, the coverage position, and the carrier demand it produces. Pricing is scoped to the book, so bring your volumes.