Risk of loss is the duty to make financial reparations for the destruction, theft or any other damage to or loss of specified property that occurs after a contract is created, but before it is fulfilled. Depending on the circumstances, it can be legally assigned to the buyer, carrier, seller or an insurance company.
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which is applicable in most states, assigns risk of loss based on several criteria. These are:
Section 2-509 of the UCC specifies what happens if no one breached the contract. As set forth in this section, risk of loss is assigned to the buyer in most circumstances.