CAIRO: Companies which import and export goods in and out of Egypt can cut down on shipping times and step up their product flow, thanks to a new online service, insurance company Royal & SunAlliance announced yesterday.
The company says that the “e-certificate program, which allows their customers to issue their marine insurance paperwork over the web, is the first of its kind in Egypt.
“This system will enable [our customers] to issue their insurance from their end, says Ahmed Hassan, a Royal & SunAlliance spokesman.
“It would take five minutes now [but] before it would take between 24 and 48 hours.
Premiums and costs will be calculated automatically, which the company says will cut down on human error. The service will be available 24 hours and will be supported by a team of help desk employees.
Hassan notes that the service is especially helpful for large companies who have a constant flow of imports coming in and out of the country. Some of Royal & SunAlliance’s customers include General Motors and Venus Grain, which imports up to 40 percent of the country’s grain from Canada, South American and the US, says Hassan.
Equally important, the online process allows companies to speed up their paperwork, which will cut down of tariffs and taxes levied on products which get tied up in customs and languish in port.
Marine insurance covers damage to goods that occurs during shipping over land, air and sea.
