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You can insure international First Class Mail!
Not all packages need shipping insurance–I find that the vast majority of our shipped goods make it to their destination just fine. If you ship fragile, expensive or irreplaceable goods though, buying insurance might be a good idea. When to insure is a decision you need to make for yourself–every business will have different points at which insurance is the way to go.
If you insure a lot of packages, the fees can add up. If you ship internationally, you can’t even insure some of your through packages USPS and that is a problem for many sellers.
It’s easy to add USPS insurance while you are paying for postage whether you are buying postage online or at the post office:
| USPS insurance rates: | Domestic | International |
When shipping internationally, the prices for Priority Mail International shipping is often cost-prohibitive–add insurance and the high prices might turn buyers off.
First Class International and the small flat rate Priority Mail International boxes are a more affordable shipping method but USPS doesn’t offer insurance for these services, which can be risky if you are sending items that are pricy/fragile/irreplaceable.
That’s a tough hurdle for lots of folks who want to sell internationally, until they learn you can purchase insurance through third-party shipping insurance companies.
Not only is third-party insurance available for International First Class Mail, it less expensive than USPS’ insurance to boot–even for domestic shipping.
The two companies I’ve learned about and tried have different restrictions–one doesn’t cover jewelry, the other doesn’t cover stained glass. Since we sell both, I made a point of bookmarking each of them, including the pages where they list their rates and restrictions:
| Shipsurance http://www.shipsurance.com (formerly DSI insurance) Coverage restrictions: http://www.shipsurance.com/one_time_parcel_terms.asp? Rates: http://www.shipsurance.com/questions.asp#GEN4 |
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U-Pic http://www.u-pic.com/index.aspx Coverage restrictions: http://www.u-pic.com/CoverageRules.aspx Rates: http://delta.u-pic.com/Order/OnlineRates.aspx |
I haven’t needed to file a claim with either company, but purchasing the insurance through their websites was easy enough. I’ve only read about one seller who needed to file a claim with these companies–they insured using U-Pic (through Endicia’s postage/label service) and they said the claims process went well.
How was your experience with these companies?
6 Comments | Add your own
I tried Shipsurance after reading your blog entry Go To. Sooooo easy to do on-line. The proof in the pudding is the claim. I’m glad you shared claim results from U-Pic. It appears not too many shippers in my etsy world need to file claims which is a good thing. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Thank you for this But i am still searching for a 3rd party insurer that will cover Cell Phones! Maybe U-Pic does but they have minimums Etc.. I wish there was a full list.
You just made my day. Insuring my 1st class shipments is going to give me a lot more peace of mind and I’m sure it will help my customers feel more secure as well. Thanks so much for sharing this info!!!! I told Shipinsurance you sent me.
Shipsurance might but you’d have to be shipping about 100 a month for coverage… let me know if you find another reliable third party shipping insurer.
what’s that about having to ship 100 a month? I keep seeing things that hint at that possible requirement but no definite \how things are\ about that. I only ship occasionally and only just started adding international so I need to know if I’ll have to be shipping all the time in order to use shipinsurance.
You can purchase insurance one package at a time as needed with either company. I think they just offer a discount if you ship enough to have a bulk account.
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