International Business Insurance from £95.00/month

If you trade internationally, the first question is jurisdiction: standard UK policies cover claims brought in UK courts, and a claim brought in the USA or elsewhere can fall outside the policy entirely. Cover must be arranged for the territories you sell to and the jurisdictions you can be sued in.

Cover this trade usually needs

Cover	Why it matters	Typical limit
Public and product liability — worldwide	Injury or damage your products or operations cause overseas	£2m–£10m with the right territorial limits
Goods in transit — international	Goods moving by sea, air and road across borders	Matched to shipment values
Professional indemnity — overseas work	Advice and services delivered to foreign clients	Matched to contract values
Cyber	Cross-border data flows and overseas customers	Matched to turnover
Business interruption	Supply chain and overseas supplier failure	12–24 months gross profit

Key risks

• A product claim brought in a foreign court — especially the USA.
• Goods lost or damaged in international transit.
• An overseas supplier fails and production stops.
• A foreign contract imposes liability beyond UK norms.
• Currency and payment risks on international trade.

Regulations and licences

• Export controls and sanctions rules.
• Product safety and labelling rules in each market you sell to.
• Incoterms in your contracts — they decide who insures the goods in transit.
• Data transfer rules under UK GDPR.

What we check before quoting

• Every country you sell to, supply from or have clients in.
• USA and Canada exposure — the jurisdiction that changes everything.
• The Incoterms you trade on and who insures goods in transit.
• Overseas contracts and the liability clauses you have signed.
• Any overseas premises, staff or stock.

Gaps we see most often

• USA sales not declared — North American jurisdiction is excluded by default on most UK policies.
• Goods in transit uninsured because each party assumed the other covered them.
• Contractual liability accepted overseas that exceeds the policy.
• Territorial limits covering sales but not the jurisdiction of claims.

Limits clients and contracts usually ask for

• Liability £2m–£10m with territorial and jurisdiction limits matching your actual trade.
• Goods in transit at full shipment values.

Common questions

I sell to the USA — what changes?

Everything. US claims are brought in US courts under US law, and most UK policies exclude North American jurisdiction by default. Your cover must specifically include USA/Canada jurisdiction — declare it before the first sale, not after the first claim.

Who insures goods during international shipping?

The Incoterms in your contract decide — under CIF the seller insures, under FOB the buyer. Check what you have signed; the most common gap is both parties assuming the other insured the shipment.

Are foreign contracts a problem?

They can be. Overseas contracts often impose liability beyond what UK negligence law would — broad indemnities, liquidated damages, foreign law clauses. Show us the contract before you sign; contractual liability beyond ordinary negligence is often excluded.

Does my liability policy cover claims brought overseas?

Only within its territorial and jurisdiction limits. Territorial limits say where the incident can happen; jurisdiction limits say which courts the policy responds to. Both must match how you actually trade.