subject: Do I Need To Insure Packages Sent With A Courier? [print this page] When you ship something with your Chicago courier service, insurance is naturally going to be on your mind. This is especially true if you haven't shipped with a particular courier before and aren't sure how carefully they are going to look after your products. It is safe to say however, that usually when shipping something with a courier company, insurance is going to be less of a worry than you would think it might be.
That is because every courier company that is in business is required by the law to have a great deal of insurance in order to be operated legally. They have something called courier insurance, which is actually an insurance that the courier takes out to insure the value of anything that they are carrying. That means if something does happen to your package and you didn't insure it, it probably already has insurance of some kind on it.
Courier insurance is usually pretty comprehensive in the types of situations that it covers. If you're curious about the exact type of coverage that is provided by your courier's policy, don't be afraid to just ask them, they will usually be more than happy to answer. Usually though, this type of insurance will at the very least cover damage from theft, vandalism, packages being lost, dropped, weather damaged, or destroyed in a vehicle accident.
There is another type of theft insurance which most couriers take out as well. This is known as bonding, which is a type of insurance they take out on their employees. This means that if a theft occurs either by or directly because of something that one of the courier's employees does, they shipment will be insured against that as well.
When you're filling out the paperwork placing the order for your pickup with the courier company, you'll usually have to fill out something indicating the value of your package, sometimes called the declared value. This is how much your package is going to be insured for if it is damaged, so be sure the number is an accurate representation of the actual value of your goods. Be aware though that most couriers have a maximum that you can claim in that area, so if your goods are worth much more than that maximum, you may have to look into buying your own additional insurance. Extremely valuable goods are usually the only time purchasing insurance becomes a courier company client issue for consideration.
by: scott gallagher
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