Six big railroads meet in Chicago. And about a quarter of all the freight in the U.S. rolls through here. These two things together make Chicago the busiest rail town in the country.
That’s really good for business, but it also means your cargo can be sitting in a yard overnight with somebody else watching over it. And whoever that is isn’t necessarily on the hook if your freight gets stolen. That’s where commercial insurance saves you.
Where Your Freight Sits Still in Chicago, IL
Corwith Intermodal at Pershing and Kedzie moves nearly 1,900 containers every single day. Clearing Yard down by Bedford Park stretches over five miles. Add those two to the Belt Railway shuffling cars around and there’s a lot of freight waiting for the next crew.
It’s the waiting part that worries us at Arial Insurance Group. Thieves are known to cut into rail cars.
IL Treats This Like Breaking into a House
State law calls it burglary if someone cuts the seal on a rail car and gets in. Exact same charge as breaking into your home. Cook County chases these cases hard. They’re even flying drones over the tracks on the South Side.
It’s great that they are working so hard to protect your freight. But an arrest doesn’t mean you get your product back. It doesn’t fix the order you promised to a customer.
The Railroad May Not Owe You What You Think
Lots of business owners assume the railroad has you covered if your freight goes missing. Federal law does hold railroads accountable for cargo they have. But at the same time, that law lets the railroad and shipper make an agreement in advance to decide what the railroad pays you in the event of something going sideways.
Most contracts are written this way. You’ve also got just nine months to make a claim in writing.
Commercial Insurance That Follows Your Freight into Chicago
Most property policies are confined to inside your place of business or on your property. When the goods are in someone else’s container or sitting in a yard, that policy won’t help you. You need commercial insurance that’s written specifically for cargo on the move.
Get in touch with Arial Insurance Group today and we’ll go over your policy to make sure you have the commercial insurance to keep your cargo safe when it’s sitting in a rail yard.
