Some USPS® services (Like Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Cubic® and Priority Mail Flat Rate®) include $100 of insurance from USPS for free. On the other hand, each UPS® service includes $100 of carrier liability for labels you buy on Pirate Ship 😉
Pirate Ship also offers additional 3rd party insurance that can be added to any service. Learn about each USPS and UPS service here.
To add third-party insurance to any service, simply select the “Insurance” check box and enter the declared package value:
For USPS and UPS services that include coverage such as Priority Mail® or 2nd Day Air®, this will only add 3rd-party insurance if you declare $101 or more. Note in the event that you have to file a claim, you will have to prove the value that you declared.
For the services Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International that come with $200 of built-in coverage, you'll need to declare $201 or more for the 3rd-party insurance to apply.
How much insurance costs
Here's the breakdown of how much insurance costs on Pirate Ship:
Domestic Shipments: $0.75 for up to $50, then $0.80 per $100
International Shipments: $1.35 per $100
Limit: $5,000 per shipment, or
$1,000 for USPS First Class Package Service
$400 for USPS First Class Package International and Simple Export Rate
3rd party insurance can stack on top of carrier insurance
Third-party insurance that you purchase on Pirate Ship can be "added on top" of the built-in USPS insurance and UPS carrier liability... but you can also choose to insure your shipment solely through Shipsurance.
When purchasing additional coverage for your shipment through Shipsurance, you have two options:
Insure the full value of the product you're sending by entering its full value in the "Declared Value" field (this is what we recommend)
Underinsure your product with the expectation of filing a separate claim with the carrier (for instance, if you're sending a Priority Mail package worth $300, you can choose to enter just $200 in the "Declared Value" field when adding insurance to your label, since Priority Mail labels on Pirate Ship come with $100 of built-in insurance already)
With the first option, the process is streamlined through Shipsurance. At times, they may still ask you to file a claim with the carrier... but for the majority of claims, the process stays with Shipsurance. That's why we recommend this option; you only file one claim!
With the second option, you will file claims with both Shipsurance and with the carrier for the remaining value of the product.
Reminders:
Domestic Priority Mail labels come with $100 of included coverage
Priority Mail International labels come with $200 of included coverage
All UPS labels come with $100 of built-in coverage
First Class Package, Parcel Select Ground, and Simple Export Rate do not have included carrier coverage
Always include the cost of postage if you will look for that to be reimbursed if/when a claim is needed
Are my postage costs covered along with my product costs?
When purchasing third-party insurance through Shipsurance, you should always include both your product cost and the cost of postage. The cost of postage isn’t automatically included in insurance through Shipsurance and should be added to your total declared package value, as seen here:
What USPS and UPS cover for insurance claims is different from Shipsurance, depending on the type of claim you need to file. Here's what you need to know:
USPS claims:
USPS will provide compensation for the postage cost for missing package claims. When filing a missing package claim with USPS, there will be a field available in the claims form to declare your postage cost. There, you'll need to enter the value you paid for postage in Pirate Ship, and must use your Shipment page as proof of payment.
For claims for damaged packages, USPS won't provide compensation for the postage cost. This is because USPS has fulfilled the underlying service that was paid for (transit and delivery of the package), even if the contents were damaged in the process. So, you can only claim the product cost in the Priority Mail claims process.
UPS claims:
With UPS claims, the postage cost is always refunded regardless of whether you file a claim for a damaged or missing package. UPS carrier liability includes up to $100 in coverage for your product cost, and the postage cost is also refunded outside of that.
For instance, you could claim $100 in product costs and receive a total payout of $110 if your label was $10. This coverage is included with all UPS labels, regardless of the service type.
International shipments
We generally recommend adding insurance for all international shipments, because the postal services in other countries aren't as good as the USA... and for high-value shipments that would be a huge loss if they're damaged or go missing.
*Pro Tips
You can and must include the value of postage and/or packaging in your declaration if you want compensation for the postage and/or packaging in the event a claim is made with Shipsurance.
For insurance claims to be valid, Shipsurance requires proof of a USPS or UPS acceptance scan. Note that for USPS labels, End-of-Day SCAN Forms and scans from the self-service kiosks at Post Offices aren't considered proper proof in this case.
The amount you paid for insurance is not reimbursed to you when Shipsurance pays out a claim. If you get your postage cost along with the item cost refunded from Shipsurance (in the event that you added it to your declared value), you won't also get the insurance premium back.
Shipsurance Terms and Conditions
Before you ship, we strongly suggest familiarizing yourself with the Shipsurance Terms and Conditions. Shipsurance doesn’t provide coverage for all items or situations, so it’s best to read these terms in full to make sure your shipment is covered!
Contacting Pirate Ship's insurance team
If you purchased insurance when shipping with Pirate Ship, our customer support will take care of the claims process for you. Just chat with us using the blue button on the bottom right of the screen, or send an email to support@pirateship.com to get started 👍
Once we file a claim on your behalf, Pirate Ship's insurance team is only available to contact through email. Our live chat support crew doesn't have access to claim information, so if you'd like to request an update, please reply to the original email you received notifying you about your claim. Our insurance team will proactively email any claim updates once we receive them from our third-party insurance partner.
Additional Resources
Any questions? Chat in with our Support Crew - we're here to help 😃