Is insurance necessary for your items? If you are shipping electronics, antiques, fragile items, or anything over about $25, the cost of insurance is minimal in comparison to the replacement cost of the item.
Be prepared for some additional heartache even though your item is insured. No matter who the shipper is, they will require verification of various things before they will refund your money. Most will have time limits for you to satisfy whatever paperwork is required for your claim, so be prompt in providing all necessary information. We recently shipped a computer server from our California facility to our Kansas City facility. It was damaged in shipment. We had only carried the default $100 standard UPS insurance on the item due to a foul-up by the folks in CA. We probably spent $1,000 in providing photos, paperwork and time on the phone with UPS just to collect the $100 for a server that was worth over $1,500. The shipping company, UPS in this case, seem to be in hopes that you will not pursue small claims such as this.
In another unfortunate experience, I called a antique dealer in Delaware and ordered an antique Weather Vane / Lightning Rod that I had seen in their shop while vacationing. I asked the shop owner to package it properly and insure it for the full amount of my purchase, which he did. When the package arrived, everything was there except the lightning rod. It was like a 3 foot long spear that had punched a hole in the shipping box somewhere along the journey and slid out of the box. In this case, the US postal Service was used. I went down to the local Post Office, filled out the forms, and they then informed me that they would have to send out a trace on the missing piece and attempt to locate it. The trace would basically retrace the route of the item and have people look for it along the way. It took over a month to reach the antique shop owner. When he filled out the paperwork, it took another month to get back to my local Post Office. I thought things would be over at that point, but they weren’t. They felt like they had to do a second trace to make sure that no one had missed anything. After close to 6 months, I finally received a check and had to surrender the pieces that made it to the Post Office as a part of their policy for payment.
Keep these experiences in mind when you package and are contemplating whether or not to insure an item, and who you want to ship with. It may be very well worth your time to spend a few extra bucks for someone who will take better care of your items.
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Within the last several years, an alternative shipping insurance broker has emerged to fill a need not covered by your typical shippers, Discount Shipping Insurance (DSI) is an alternate shipping insurance provider. They provide coverage for shipments sent via the major shipping carriers (USPS, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, Canada Post & SAIA) at a greatly reduced rate; often more than 90% off of the carrier rates.
DSI was initially created to fill the need of complete open peril coverage in the freight market. DSI is a full service provider of shipping insurance for the small parcels and large cargo shipping market. They also enable the occasional shipper to insure a shipment immediately via their website. DSI is underwritten by Navigators Insurance Company which is 'A' rated by multiple sources.
The shipping carriers are in the business of transporting goods, and, they usually do a pretty good job. However, when a parcel is lost or damaged DSI steps in to assist you with the entirety of the process. Instead of relying on declared value protection from the shipping carriers, parcels are insured with DSI. DSI works with you on a claim by claim basis to make sure they are resolved in a timely manner. Our paperless claims management system allows our policy holders to file claims electronically and attach any pertinent information to the claim. The entire claims process can be tracked online and you will be alerted once a claim has been approved and payment has been remitted.
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DSI also covers many commodities that the shipping carriers will not. They cover artwork, antiques, fragile goods, and jewelry without any special packaging requirements. As a DSI policy holder, you will have coverage for all of your small parcels shipments as well as your large, common carrier shipments.
DSI provides personalized customer service and rapid claims handling, with parcel claims paid within days, not months. Outsourcing your claims management to an insurance professional will save you time and money and allows you to focus on your core business.