Private shipping insurance

stev32k · October 26, 2009 11:48PM

I've seen several references to people using private shipping insurance and was wondering who they used. Not including self-insurance who are the reputable companies that provide that service and how does the cost and service compare with the USPS?

notwilight · October 26, 2009 11:55PM

Based on your other thread where paypal is holding your money, you don't ship enough to make it cost effective. If you don't like slow registered mail, USPS express has the same insurance rates as registered now (because their statistics show the loss rate to be very, very low). I now uses express mail for medium value items ($1500 to $5000). It only costs $5 more than registered. --Jerry

ziggy29 · October 26, 2009 11:57PM

<< Based on your other thread where paypal is holding your money, you don't ship enough to make it cost effective. If you don't like slow registered mail, USPS express has the same insurance rates as registered now (because their statistics show the loss rate to be very, very low). I now uses express mail for medium value items ($1500 to $5000). It only costs $5 more than registered. --Jerry >>

I'd also add that if this is the eBay sales, using private insurance may make it more likely that your DSRs get dinged because unlike USPS insurance, the buyer doesn't see that you insured the package and may feel like they paid for insurance they didn't get.

drwstr123 · October 27, 2009 12:01AM

Here's a link for private insurance. I haven't used them, but am considering it.
LINKY

mrpotatoheadd · October 27, 2009 12:05AM

I have used U-PIC for a number of years now. I pay $0.75 per $100 of coverage for US/Canada shipments and $1.25 per $100 of coverage for all other international destinations. I almost always ship first class letter/large envelope and do not use DC, and I believe (but am not guaranteeing as a fact) that the rates are lower if you do use some sort of confirmation. Premiums are paid monthly, with the charge being the sum total of the fees for all your insured packages for the calendar month or $20, whichever is more.

I have had to file several claims for losses and have found the process to be painless and (in contrast to my experience with USPS insurance) relatively speedy and professional.

I believe there is also a company named ShipInsurance (or something like that) which provides shipping insurance too, but I'l leave googling that to you, as I have no experience with them.

stev32k · October 27, 2009 12:11AM

<< Based on your other thread where paypal is holding your money, you don't ship enough to make it cost effective. If you don't like slow registered mail, USPS express has the same insurance rates as registered now (because their statistics show the loss rate to be very, very low). I now uses express mail for medium value items ($1500 to $5000). It only costs $5 more than registered. --Jerry >>

You're right I don't ship much compared to a dealer, but some of the coins I do ship are in the four figure range and the insurance gets pretty expensive. I'd like to see if there is a better way. By "better" I mean the same level of protection with lower cost.

derryb · October 27, 2009 12:34AM

<< 

<< Based on your other thread where paypal is holding your money, you don't ship enough to make it cost effective. If you don't like slow registered mail, USPS express has the same insurance rates as registered now (because their statistics show the loss rate to be very, very low). I now uses express mail for medium value items ($1500 to $5000). It only costs $5 more than registered. --Jerry >>

You're right I don't ship much compared to a dealer, but some of the coins I do ship are in the four figure range and the insurance gets pretty expensive. I'd like to see if there is a better way. By "better" I mean the same level of protection with lower cost. >>

Build the cost into your Buy It Now price.

messydesk · October 27, 2009 12:49AM

<< I have used U-PIC for a number of years now. I pay $0.75 per $100 of coverage for US/Canada shipments and $1.25 per $100 of coverage for all other international destinations. I almost always ship first class letter/large envelope and do not use DC, and I believe (but am not guaranteeing as a fact) that the rates are lower if you do use some sort of confirmation. Premiums are paid monthly, with the charge being the sum total of the fees for all your insured packages for the calendar month or $20, whichever is more.

I have had to file several claims for losses and have found the process to be painless and (in contrast to my experience with USPS insurance) relatively speedy and professional.

I believe there is also a company named ShipInsurance (or something like that) which provides shipping insurance too, but I'l leave googling that to you, as I have no experience with them. >>

I've been using "Shipsurance" (formerly DSI) for my infrequent, low value (below $500) shipping needs. The cost is $1.05 per $100 declared value withn the US and a little more for international mail, but there is a limit of $500 coverage per package unless you have a policy with them. If you have a policy, the rates are lower, probably the same as U-PIC, and your coverage limit can be higher, but you have to pay a minimum monthly premium even if you don't ship much. Specifics can be discussed with a customer service rep at either company, as only they can give you a quote on a policy.

stev32k · October 27, 2009 12:50AM

Thanks for the links and info. they all Look promising. I'll have to dig into them a little more, but I think I'll try them out.

airplanenut · October 27, 2009 1:16AM

<< I almost always ship first class letter/large envelope and do not use DC, and I believe (but am not guaranteeing as a fact) that the rates are lower if you do use some sort of confirmation. >>

Be careful here... you're not covered from PayPal claims if you don't use DC/SC.

I used UPic a long time ago, but stopped when the implemented a monthly fee, as my summer volume is usually low, and certainly at the time the minimum cost wasn't met. I had used Shipsurance for a while, but a screwup with their software that downloads transactions from eBay meant I couldn't make the one claim I had because the package hadn't successfully made it to their system (which is a problem when you have to report each item and ship a few hundred per month). With the amount of money I've paid them over the years, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I recently switched to putting shipping coverage on my Hugh Wood dealer policy, and that's easier since there's no per-item reporting required.

mrpotatoheadd · October 27, 2009 1:35AM

<< Be careful here... you're not covered from PayPal claims if you don't use DC/SC. >>

Yeah, I know. The thing is- you can't get DC/SC for first class letter or large envelope packages (99% of my shipments)- you have to use the more expensive package rate. Considering the rate of loss, it's not financially practical to pay the extra 50 cents (more or less) per package to get the DC. On top of that, about 10% (sometimes more- today, it's 75%) of my shipments are for international delivery and there's no DC/SC for that at all unless you use Global Express at about $30 a pop. When you're selling mostly $10 to $100 coins, I'm sure international bidders would refuse to bid if I tried to charge for that.

yellowkid · October 27, 2009 2:59AM

I know that there are sellers who use private insurance firms but It bothers me to buy, say a $20 postcard and have the buyer insist on insurance, then charge me another 20% of the cost on top of the postage, most of these pieces arrive with no evidence of any kind of insurance and I am of the opinion that they are "self insuring" at usurious rates. The first negative I ever got was when I refused to pay $2.50 insurance for a $6 item, I was told "everybody pays insurance." If you mail out 100 $10 items in a month and charge everyone an extra 20%, you've put a couple of hundred dollars in your pocket vs. the chance that something might go missing and you would have to repay them their $10.

airplanenut · October 27, 2009 3:05AM

Yellowkid,

I think you'll find a lot of sellers charge less than USPS rates for private insurance, though I'm sure some charge more. When I have a package that just crosses the value line (say, $203), I try to charge the lower insurance rate since I realize it's not worth the extra cost for so little extra coverage. At the same time, with the removal of separate insurance charges on eBay, that no longer makes a difference.

I do see the other problem you mentioned, since every policy I've ever held has explicitly forbidden marking the package as insured. I've tried to combat it by either enclosing a card or stamping the invoice (in red) with a note that the package is full insured by a private insurance company... I guess it's up to buyers to decided if they believe me. And it's up to me to keep paying the insurance bill

notwilight · October 27, 2009 2:29PM

<< Yellowkid,

I think you'll find a lot of sellers charge less than USPS rates for private insurance, though I'm sure some charge more. When I have a package that just crosses the value line (say, $203), I try to charge the lower insurance rate since I realize it's not worth the extra cost for so little extra coverage. At the same time, with the removal of separate insurance charges on eBay, that no longer makes a difference.

I do see the other problem you mentioned, since every policy I've ever held has explicitly forbidden marking the package as insured. I've tried to combat it by either enclosing a card or stamping the invoice (in red) with a note that the package is full insured by a private insurance company... I guess it's up to buyers to decided if they believe me. And it's up to me to keep paying the insurance bill

>>

Unfortunately, there are some buyers who won't believe you, simply because you are an ebay seller.

I self insure cheap items. I've never charged for it but used to allow the buyers who wanted to pay for it to pay for it at USPS rates. Now I can't do that. I'm fine with that so long as I don't lose sales because I'm not charging for insurance. All of my auctions now say "Insurance Included" but don't charge anything above first class postage....so far nobody has complained. --Jerry

MsMorrisine · August 24, 2010 2:09AM

shipsurance and u-pic have declined my coverage.

are there any other private shipping insurers out there to try? I don't have a "Hugh Wood" dealers insurance policy to allow me to add shipping insurance coverage.

Prethen · August 24, 2010 2:23AM

Unless there's some odd twist to the policy I don't understand, Hugh Wood's transit insurance is useless. They only insure packages that go out via Registerd Mail or Insured Mail. Well, Insured Mail is kind of a moot point if you want private insurance. USPS centers require you to pay for insurance for Registered mail if you put a value down. Plus, I've even had a USPS center demand that a value be put in there...they're leery of a $0 value item being shipped Registered. Plus, don't you have to have a value in order for Hugh Wood's to cover a claim? I don't see why Hugh Wood wouldn't cover a clain on a Signature Guarantee type delivery.

Res · August 24, 2010 2:54AM

<< 

<< Be careful here... you're not covered from PayPal claims if you don't use DC/SC. >>

Yeah, I know. The thing is- you can't get DC/SC for first class letter or large envelope packages (99% of my shipments)- you have to use the more expensive package rate. Considering the rate of loss, it's not financially practical to pay the extra 50 cents (more or less) per package to get the DC. On top of that, about 10% (sometimes more- today, it's 75%) of my shipments are for international delivery and there's no DC/SC for that at all unless you use Global Express at about $30 a pop. When you're selling mostly $10 to $100 coins, I'm sure international bidders would refuse to bid if I tried to charge for that. >>

I think you can get DC on a first class letter, if you throw a packing peanut in the envelope to make it over a certain thickness (I don't know the exact regs.). This will still keep it below the priority mail rate, although it will add some cost.

LindeDad · August 24, 2010 3:39AM

<< 

<< 

<< Be careful here... you're not covered from PayPal claims if you don't use DC/SC. >>

Yeah, I know. The thing is- you can't get DC/SC for first class letter or large envelope packages (99% of my shipments)- you have to use the more expensive package rate. Considering the rate of loss, it's not financially practical to pay the extra 50 cents (more or less) per package to get the DC. On top of that, about 10% (sometimes more- today, it's 75%) of my shipments are for international delivery and there's no DC/SC for that at all unless you use Global Express at about $30 a pop. When you're selling mostly $10 to $100 coins, I'm sure international bidders would refuse to bid if I tried to charge for that. >>

I think you can get DC on a first class letter, if you throw a packing peanut in the envelope to make it over a certain thickness (I don't know the exact regs.). This will still keep it below the priority mail rate, although it will add some cost. >>

It goes at the package rate now if you do that. They changed the rule about two years ago.

It goes the same as a padded mailer now. I just sent one at 2oz. cost $1.58 for postage and DC.

coinguy1 · August 24, 2010 4:01AM

<< Unless there's some odd twist to the policy I don't understand, Hugh Wood's transit insurance is useless. They only insure packages that go out via Registerd Mail or Insured Mail. Well, Insured Mail is kind of a moot point if you want private insurance. USPS centers require you to pay for insurance for Registered mail if you put a value down. Plus, I've even had a USPS center demand that a value be put in there...they're leery of a $0 value item being shipped Registered. Plus, don't you have to have a value in order for Hugh Wood's to cover a claim? I don't see why Hugh Wood wouldn't cover a clain on a Signature Guarantee type delivery. >>

Bruce, depending upon the specific policy, they also insure for Fedex and or Express mail. Also, their insured and registered mail insurance is far from useless. You can list a very low insurance value and pay far less in postal fees than you would if you insured for full value.

Prethen · August 24, 2010 4:10AM

<< Bruce, depending upon the specific policy, they also insure for Fedex and or Express mail. Also, their insured and registered mail insurance is far from useless. You can list a very low insurance value and pay far less in postal fees than you would if you insured for full value. >>

Mark, I guess I need to find that out from them (about not insuring for full value). Plus, I have the Gold Policy and it does not allow for Fedex or Express mail (unless it's insured) to be covered. I spoke directly with someone from Hugh Wood on this.

MsMorrisine · August 24, 2010 4:15AM

and I just spoke to someone with HW, and the gold is usps registered and no usps express.

notwilight · August 24, 2010 4:55AM

<< and I just spoke to someone with HW, and the gold is usps registered and no usps express. >>

Each insurance gets to set their own rules.

To answer the earlier question, I use www.parcelpro.com for shipments over $25k with no problems. --jerry

Frankcoins · August 24, 2010 12:07PM

We have used PIP for many years, and got so tired of people dinging our feedback claiming "Seller didn't insure package, kept the money"
we finally got one of these...

airplanenut · August 24, 2010 2:01PM

<< We have used PIP for many years, and got so tired of people dinging our feedback claiming "Seller didn't insure package, kept the money"
we finally got one of these...

>>

Which is forbidden on the outside of any package by every insurance company. I do use a red stamp on each invoice to indicate that the package was insured.

notwilight · August 24, 2010 2:42PM

When I ship a $2k coin I pay the postage online and add the insurance at the PO. The insurance is $6.75 but the express postage was $18 bucks or so. I charge $24. The machine label on the package says $6.75. So far nobody has complained. --Jerry

Private shipping insurance

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