Also called: Cost, Insurance and Freight
What CIF adds to a C-term
CIF is not door-to-door and it is not “seller liable until discharge”. Delivery for risk purposes is still on board at origin, as under CFR. What CIF adds is a seller duty to take out insurance for the buyer’s benefit during the ocean or inland-waterway carriage to the named port, meeting the minimum set by the Incoterms 2020 CIF rule.
Minimum insurance is not all-risks
Trade practice describes that Incoterms 2020 CIF minimum as cover on the order of Institute Cargo Clauses (C), or an equivalent limited form, not Institute Cargo Clauses (A) or other all-risks wording. Parties who want broader cover, a named deductible, or a specific insurer must write that into the contract. This is an educational summary; the binding allocation is the official ICC rule the parties name.
CIF insurance is cargo insurance for physical loss or damage during the insured carriage. It does not pay a quality claim merely because a COA later fails, and it does not replace destination inspection.
Who books freight under CIF
The seller contracts main carriage, so the seller usually obtains the transport document a letter of credit may require. The buyer then lives with that carrier and routing unless the contract constrains them. Compare CIF offers only to the same named destination port, and only if the insurance level is the same.
Cost split, still origin risk
Seller: on-board delivery, main freight to the named destination port, minimum insurance as required by the CIF rule, export clearance under the usual allocation. Buyer: risk from on-board, any extra insurance they want, import clearance, and destination costs the freight and insurance contracts do not include.
Why two CIF quotes may still differ
Different destination ports. Freight that excludes terminal handling or destination charges. Insurance on minimum terms versus a named broader clause. Different voyage routing or transhipment. Different document sets, for example whether a negotiable bill of lading is included. Put those points in the RFQ if they affect the comparison.
CIF the Incoterm is not a customs valuation method
On this page CIF means the Incoterms rule Cost, Insurance and Freight. In some import conversations, especially in Persian, “CIF” or a local word for it is used for a customs value (goods plus freight plus insurance as a duty base). That customs-value use is not the same as naming Incoterms CIF in a sale contract. TTC does not calculate duty. If you are preparing an RFQ, name the Incoterms rule and the destination port, not a customs formula.
CIF-specific mistakes
“CIF any port”. Assuming CIF insurance pays for quality claims. Using CIF for air or road. Reading CIF as DDP. Forgetting to say Incoterms 2020 when the other side still drafts in older language. Treating a customs “CIF value” as if it were the Incoterms CIF rule.
TTC uses these terms in its RFQ and transaction process. Nothing on this page is a licence, a certification, a guarantee of clearance, or a substitute for the documents and clauses of a specific contract.