Shipping insurance explained
Every shipment includes basic cover that refunds the shipping cost if the package is lost. Full insurance, for 5% of the declared value, also covers your goods against loss and damage, up to $10,000. What it covers, how to add it, and how to make a claim.
Every shipment includes basic cover: if the carrier loses your package, we refund the shipping cost. The goods themselves, and any damage, are covered only if you add full insurance before you request dispatch. Full insurance costs 5% of the declared value and covers up to $10,000 per package.
What is covered
| Basic cover (included) | Full insurance (optional) | |
|---|---|---|
| Package lost in transit | Shipping cost refunded | Value of the goods and the shipping cost |
| Package damaged in transit | Not covered | Value of the goods, with the exceptions below |
| Late delivery | Not covered | Not covered |
| Cost | Included in the shipping rate | 5% of the declared value |
While your package is in our warehouse, we are responsible for it, with or without insurance. If something happens to it there, we compensate the value of the goods. The total for all your packages in one warehouse is limited to $10,000.
Why the carrier's own insurance doesn't help: a carrier's insurance often applies only to shipments paid at the carrier's full rate. Our rates are discounted, so it usually doesn't apply to your shipment.
How the value is determined
- The value is what you declared in the content description, or what your invoices show, whichever is lower. Full insurance never pays more than the goods are worth. For example, if you insure a package at $1,000 but the item is worth $10, we pay $10. If you declare $10 and later show an invoice for $1,000, we also pay $10.
- We may ask you for proof of value, such as the purchase invoice. Send it within 7 days of our request.
- Only declared items are covered. If you declared a mouse and the package also contained a keyboard, only the mouse is covered. See How to declare package contents.
- If a package in the warehouse has no content description and you can't prove its value, we count it as worth at most $50.
What full insurance doesn't cover
- Prohibited items on our list of prohibited and restricted items.
- Poor packing. If the package wasn't packed properly, we may pay only part of the value. We're responsible for packing we did ourselves, for example a consolidation or a repack, but not for packages we forward as they arrived. See Can my package be repacked or shrunk?
- Late delivery, and costs caused by a delay.
- Shipments to Israel and Ukraine. Full insurance isn't available for them until further notice.
- Precious metals, such as gold and silver, from any warehouse. They ship without insurance.
Covered only if lost, not if damaged
If the whole package is lost, full insurance covers everything in it, including restricted items. If the package arrives damaged, it doesn't cover damage to these items:
- bicycles, coffee machines, dinner sets, furniture, luggage and suitcases, musical instruments
- electrical appliances other than white goods, such as cameras, monitors, computers, drones, lights and lamps, TVs and LCD screens, projectors
- wall decor, such as prints, clocks, framed pictures, posters and paintings
- liquids and food, including damage caused by leaking liquids or spilled food
- fragile items made of glass, ceramic, porcelain, pottery, stone or similar materials
- used (second-hand) goods
- currency-like items, such as coins
- restricted items on our list of prohibited and restricted items
Insuring these items still makes sense, because full insurance covers them if the package is lost.
How to add full insurance
You can add insurance once the content description of the package is complete, and until you request dispatch.
- Open the package in Packages & Shipments and fill in the Content description tab. See How to declare package contents.
- Under Insurance, tick Yes, I would like to protect my $… parcel against loss or damage for $…. The box shows the insured value and the exact price. Alternatively, click change next to Insurance in the Check list.
- Check that the Check list shows Insurance: Yes and that the Price line includes the insurance, then request dispatch. See How to dispatch a package.
- The insured value is the declared value of the goods, without the shipping cost, up to $10,000. Insurance costs 5% of it, for example $5 for goods declared at $100.
- The insurance is paid from your balance together with the shipping cost when you request dispatch. If we cancel the dispatch request, it is refunded.
- Once you request dispatch, insurance can't be added or removed.
If a package is lost or damaged
Damage must be reported within 3 days of delivery, and we can't accept claims for shipments older than 90 days. For when to contact us, what to send and how compensation is paid, see Package lost or damaged: what to do.