Who pays for insurance under FAS?

Under FAS the seller has no obligation to insure the goods for the buyer.

FAS (Free Alongside Ship) Incoterms® 2020 rule

The seller clears export and places the goods alongside the buyer's ship; the buyer pays loading and everything after.

In our own words, checked against public explanatory sources. The official rule text is published by ICC.

Transport mode: Sea and inland waterway only
Risk passes: Alongside the ship at the port of shipment
Seller must insure?: No

Who pays, at a glance

Seller pays or arranges:: packaging, loading at origin, export clearance, pre-carriage.
Buyer pays or arranges:: main carriage, unloading at destination, import clearance, import duties, on-carriage.
Depends on the delivery place or arrangement:: insurance — see the notes in the cost table.

Where risk passes

Risk passes when the goods are placed alongside the ship, for example on the quay or a barge, at the agreed port of shipment.

Cost and risk diagram

Rows follow the goods from the seller (top) to the buyer (bottom); the dashed line marks where risk passes. Generated from the table below. Positions are schematic — the named place in your contract decides the exact point.

Who pays for what

Cost item	Paid / arranged by	Notes
Packaging	Seller
Loading at origin	Seller	The seller loads at origin and brings the goods to the quay; loading onto the ship itself is the buyer's cost.
Export clearance	Seller
Pre-carriage	Seller
Main carriage	Buyer
Insurance	Depends	No party has to insure under this rule. Each may cover the part of the journey where it carries the risk: the seller up to delivery, the buyer after it.
Unloading at destination	Buyer
Import clearance	Buyer
Import duties	Buyer
On-carriage	Buyer

Insurance

This rule puts no obligation on the seller to insure the goods for the buyer. Either side may still choose to buy cover for its own risk.

Common mistakes

Using FAS for containers; sources suggest FCA, because a container is closed long before it reaches the quay and its contents cannot be checked there.
Not naming the exact loading spot in the port of shipment, although that is where risk passes.

In your ERP and on invoices

Practical consequences of the cost split above for order data, cost bookings and invoice layout. Generic — not specific to any ERP product.

Store the rule code, the edition (for example 2020) and the named place as separate fields on orders, and print all three on the invoice.
Main-carriage freight is a buyer cost: the buyer's landed-cost or freight accrual should include it; the seller's sales price should not.
Import duties are a buyer cost: the buyer's landed-cost calculation should add duties and clearance fees on top of the purchase price.

When to look at another rule

Derived from the cost tables: rules for the same kind of route that differ from FAS in one of export clearance, main carriage, import clearance or insurance.

If the seller should arrange and pay the main carriage: CFR.
Same split of those four duties but a different risk point: FOB.

Compare FAS with

FAS vs FOB

Questions about FAS

Where does risk pass from seller to buyer under FAS?: Risk passes when the goods are placed alongside the ship, for example on the quay or a barge, at the agreed port of shipment.
Which transport modes can FAS be used for?: Sea and inland waterway only.
Who pays for insurance under FAS?: Under FAS the seller has no obligation to insure the goods for the buyer.
Who is responsible for export clearance under FAS?: The seller.
Who is responsible for main carriage under FAS?: The buyer.
Who is responsible for import clearance under FAS?: The buyer.
Who is responsible for import duties under FAS?: The buyer.
Who is responsible for unloading at destination under FAS?: The buyer.

Sources

Checked on 11 October 2026.

Export Development Canada — edc.ca
Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK) — kvk.nl
US International Trade Administration — trade.gov
Maersk (chart by Pilot Freight Services) — delivers.maersk.comsecondary