Making sure YARRrrr packages are covered with shipping insurance is a crucial part of shipping the smart way, Matey!
Here's everything you need to know about insurance for your packages on Pirate Ship.
All your insurance options on Pirate Ship
USPS insurance: Some USPS® services (Like USPS Ground Advantage®, Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Cubic®, and Priority Mail Flat Rate®) include $100 of insurance from USPS for free.
UPS insurance: Most UPS® services include $100 of carrier liability for labels you buy on Pirate Ship 😉 The only exception is UPS Ground Saver®, which includes $20 of carrier liability.
Third-party insurance: Pirate Ship also offers additional third-party insurance through InsureShield that can be added to any service (learn about each USPS and UPS service here).
Pro Pirate Tip: We recommend InsureShield for protectin' y'er booty! InsureShield costs just $1 for every $100 of coverage, and you can cover UPS shipments up to $10,000 and USPS shipments up to $5,000.
InsureShield protects you from anything that can happen, including damaged shipments and porch theft.
How to add third-party insurance to your shipment
Adding insurance: To add third-party insurance to any service, select the “Insurance” checkbox and enter the declared package value.
Here's how that looks:
Declared Package Value: The amount you enter in the "Declared Package Value" field applies to our 3rd-party insurance provider, InsureShield. In the event that you have to file a claim, you will have to prove the value that you declared.
Third-party insurance does not “stack” with USPS insurance or UPS carrier liability
No stacking insurance: When you purchase third-party insurance, you can’t “stack” the $100 of protection you get from Priority Mail/Priority Mail Express labels and UPS labels on top of it. Purchasing InsureShield coverage on Pirate Ship nullifies any underlying carrier protection on a shipment.
An example: Say you have a UPS Ground shipment that you’re purchasing $300 of insurance for. To cover your whole shipment, you must enter $300 in the Declared Package Value field. Even though UPS Ground labels come with $100 of carrier liability, you (the shipper) are responsible for paying the full $300 of coverage with InsureShield, instead of paying $200 and then claiming $100 of UPS carrier liability you typically get with UPS Ground labels.
The cost of third-party insurance on Pirate Ship
Here's the breakdown of how much insurance through InsureShield costs on Pirate Ship:
Domestic shipments: $1.00 for every $100
International shipments: $1.00 for every $100
Declared Value limit: $10,000 per UPS shipment and $5,000 per USPS shipment
The limit for Declared Value is $400 for USPS First Class Package International and Simple Export Rate
Round up to the nearest hundred-dollar amount
Insurance is added in $100 increments: Insurance amounts aren't prorated; instead, they are added in increments of $100 in declared value.
For example, if you want to insure your package for $150, you'll still be charged for $200 of declared value ($1.00 plus $1.00 = $2.00 of total insurance cost).
We always suggest rounding up to the nearest hundred-dollar amount when declaring your package value!
Who do I contact if I need to file an insurance claim?
Points of contact for filing claims: The carrier you used to ship and whether you purchased third-party insurance will determine who you need to contact to file an insurance claim. We've listed your different options below:
USPS insurance claims: To file a claim for USPS insurance, either you or your recipient must file the claim directly with USPS. For more info, see our article: How do I file a USPS insurance claim?
UPS carrier liability claims: You can file claims for UPS carrier liability directly through the InsureShield Claims Portal. For more info, see our article. For more info, see our article: How do I file a UPS carrier liability claim?
Third-party insurance claims: You must file all InsureShield claims directly through the InsureShield Claims Portal. For more information on that, see our article: How do I file an insurance claim with InsureShield?
Some reminders about insurance
Domestic USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail labels come with $100 of USPS insurance
Priority Mail International labels come with $200 of included coverage
All UPS labels come with $100 of built-in coverage, except for UPS Ground Saver, which comes with $20 of coverage
Media Mail and Simple Export Rate do not have included carrier coverage
Are my postage costs covered along with my product costs?
Postage costs are covered: Postage costs are always included in insurance through InsureShield, and you don't need to add your shipping costs to your declared value to receive compensation for them 🎉
For example: Say your item is worth $150, your label costs $15, and you purchased $150 worth of coverage with InsureShield to account for the cost of your item. In the event of a payout, you will receive $165 (the $150 of coverage you paid for, plus the $15 label reimbursement).
Note that InsureShield only covers the actual label cost on Pirate Ship, not what you may have charged your customers for shipping.
Insurance costs are not reimbursed: While postage costs are covered, the amount you paid for insurance is not reimbursed to you when InsureShield pays out a claim.
Understanding USPS and UPS coverage
What USPS and UPS cover for insurance claims is different from InsureShield, depending on the type of claim you need to file. Here's what you need to know:
USPS insurance claims
Missing package 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.
Damaged package claims: 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 when filing an insurance claim with USPS.
UPS carrier liability claims
What UPS covers: UPS carrier liability includes up to $100 in coverage ($20 for UPS Ground Saver). This covers 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 additional postage coverage is included with all UPS labels, regardless of the service type.
Are taxes reimbursed with insurance claims?
For insured shipments, InsureShield includes coverage for taxes in their claim payouts 🎉
Exclusions for marketplaces: If you are filing a claim for an order that took place on either Etsy, eBay, or Reverb, InsureShield will not include taxes in the claim payout.
These three platforms reimburse taxes directly once you (the seller) refund the buyer through the platform.
UPS does not cover taxes: Regular UPS carrier liability does not cover taxes and fees. Therefore, those amounts won't be paid out with regular carrier liability when filing a UPS claim through InsureShield.
International shipments
Insuring your international shipments: We recommend adding insurance for all international shipments!
Other countries' postal services aren't as good as the USA... and if you're sending high-value shipments, it would be a huge loss if they're damaged or go missing.
InsureShield Terms and Conditions
Read the InsureShield Terms and Conditions: Before you ship, we strongly suggest familiarizing yourself with the InsureShield Terms and Conditions for Insurance.
InsureShield 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!
UPS Terms and Conditions
Coverage exclusions: There are some types of items that UPS will provide coverage for when shipping directly through them that they won't cover when you purchase UPS labels through platforms like ours 🙈
UPS Carrier Liability Terms and Conditions: When shipping with UPS, we highly suggest checking out the UPS Carrier Liability Terms and Conditions, as well as the list of items that UPS prohibits (both in general and on Pirate Ship).
File a claim for third-party insurance through the InsureShield Claims Portal
If you purchased third-party insurance through InsureShield and need to file a claim, you can do so directly through the InsureShield Claims Portal. This article walks you through the whole process.
We can’t assist with InsureShied claims: Our Support Crew will do our best to offer guidance if you chat with us, but we can’t assist with the claim filing process.
Reach out to UPS Capital with questions: Once you file your claim, any questions should be directed to UPS Capital at insureshieldsupport@ups.com.
You can purchase other third-party coverage outside of Pirate Ship's platform
You aren't limited to InsureShield for coverage: Want another form of third-party coverage for your shipment? Good news, matey - you can purchase and use any type of third-party coverage you prefer 👍
While our agreement with InsureShield doesn't limit you from using other companies for insurance coverage, you'll need to purchase that coverage outside Pirate Ship's platform.
Additional resources