cost, insurance, and freight

accounting

Also known as: CIF

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Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The term "CIF" is an abbreviation that can stand for "central information file" or, more commonly in commerce, "cost, insurance, and freight". When used in a commercial context, CIF is a shipping term that indicates the seller is responsible for covering the costs of goods, insurance, and freight charges to get the product to the buyer's designated port of destination.1

Another related term is "CIFC," which can mean either "cost, insurance, freight, and charges" or "cost, insurance, freight, and commission".2

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2 Britannica Sources

CIF
CIFC

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…on a CIF basis (including cost, insurance, and freight to the point of destination). This swells the import figures relative to the export figures by the amount of the insurance and freight included. The reason for this practice has been that in many countries the trade statistics have been based…
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…on a CIF basis (including cost, insurance, and freight to the point of destination). This swells the import figures relative to the export figures by the amount of the insurance and freight included. The reason for this practice has been that in many countries the trade statistics have been based…
Read More