Detailed rules governing the forwarding agent's liability to the customer, as well as grounds and limitations of such liability, are fixed by the parties in the contract of freight forwarding.
Although many lawyers do not consider carriers' and forwarding agents' liability to fall within the scope of professional liability, insurance against such risks is in great demand.
The required documents are issued by the carrier directly or through integrated forwarding agents, and they include information about booking, current position of the shipment, and status of delivery.
Furthermore, forwarders often hire subcontractors to undertake the shipment; as a result, cases of loss or shortage of goods and claims against forwarding agents can become quite complicated.
The forwarding agent is entitled to engage other parties for the execution of certain work under the contract (eg, transportation, storage, loading and unloading).
Under this model, traditional carriers diversify their activities by creating a forwarding unit within their companies, or forwarding agents acquire vehicles or create dependent carriers.