Usefulness of UPS insurance claims

T

the_servicer

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Does anyone here have any experience with filing an insurance claim with UPS?

I hesitate to buy insurance when shipping with UPS because I don't know if they will actually pay for my loss in the event of a problem. Buying insurance and filing a claim is one thing; actually getting paid is another. I have never had a problem with shipping anything before and so I have never needed to try out the insurance claims process.

How often do they accuse a customer of improper packaging or insufficient evidence of loss or damage, and therefore refuse to pay a claim?

Am I being too pessimistic?

I am trying to decide whether to buy insurance when selling things here on the forum and on eBay, etc.
 
I did once...I shipped a Macbook ($600 or so) to an ebay customer and it was destroyed by UPS. I called the claim number.

Their claims are handled by a 3rd party, and they tried to pass the buck off like it was my fault because I did not pack safely. I had to explain how I packaged the item and describe the box I used. If it is a single wall box, they will try and and make it your fault.

IIRC, they paid for a shipping label to send the damaged item to them and then I got a check for the amount of insurance paid on the item in about 4 weeks.

This was about 5 years ago though, so YMMV on how it works now.
 
insurance payouts are not guaranteed, always contingent upon set rules and conditions. You can take steps to help follow the rules, but again nothing is certain with any carrier.

First thing is first, if you are shipping high value items below $1k avoid packaging the item yourself. Carriers love when you package your items, since they can state its not up to snuff. You can try and print out the rules UPS provides online and follow them, but if its too time consuming avoid it, and go to a UPS/carrier store. Let them package it, take pictures and receipts and done. Its more money spent but money spent smart.

Second if you are shipping high value item above $1K then you need look into third party insurance, as UPS/most carriers do not cover that amount.

Third, if an item is damaged, REFUSE DELIVERY!!! If you refuse delivery of the item that has been damaged, it will help save both parties involved. Make sure to document that at the Point of Delivery, package is not being accepted due to item arrived damaged. If the item was delivered and you were not home, immediately call them up. Do not wait!!!
 
You're dealing with the UPS claims department... The odds that they will approve your claim, even if you can picture physical damage, are always going to be mixed.

On the contrary, In my experience with USPS, every one of my 5 claims got approved. Two of which could be blamed on my negligence. I know it's not UPS, but same difference.

If your item is over $100, I'd insure it.. I would really choose USPS over UPS in my opinion, easier to use, with much better options with cheaper shipping.
 
If you are willing to accept the cost of a lost/damaged shipment, then don't worry about buying the insurance. If, in the event that a package you ship is lost/damaged in transit, then the insurance will pay you the replacement value of the item(s) lost/damaged. Some carriers are also kind enough to repay you for the shipping cost, but this is certainly not always the case.

I have had good and bad experiences with insurance claims from lost/damaged packages. I have no direct experience with UPS, but I have filed several claims over the years with the USPS. Most of the time, they are forthright in helping and pay pretty quickly. I had one occasion where they dragged their feet, disputed everything imaginable, but ultimately relented, after several months of repeatedly attempting to address the issue.

There are few guarantees in life, but if it gives you peace of mind to know that should something bad happen to your package in transit, you will receive financial recompense for the trouble, then go for it. It makes sense, especially for higher value electronics/computer components. It isn't worth it for cheaper items, unless you are shipping large enough quantities to justify the additional expense.
 
Samm is stating true facts!!!

I had to file a claim a couple of years ago on a 4 processor setup.

I knew, due to the size, that I would have to ship UPS so I took a bunch of pictures of the box, packing, and contents as I was packing the combo up. I also took pictures of the package when I was done getting it all packed up.

And luckily the purchaser also had a digital camera and took pictures when the box arrived. They had completely destroyed the box and motherboard.

Due to both parties having a ton of pictures of the item they didn't even require the purchaser to send the package to them.
As said above, it did take about a month to get the insurance but they paid the full amount.

Now I do have a small ma and pa type computer shop and always use the company name when shipping as I have heard horror stories of people trying to get the insurance claims done when residential customers ship goods. So that may be something to consider as well.

In order for them to grant the claim they had to have a copy of the receipt to show the value and it had to come from a business. Needless to say, I did have a copy of the receipt in my records at the computer shop
I have read that if a receipt is not present they will evaluate the product and determine the value themselves regardless of how much insurance you have included. Which of course will be much less than what the purchaser paid or how much you insured it for.

Very strong suggestion here; if its a smaller item, IE CPU, Ram, etc... ship US postal service. They take good care of packages almost always. Include "FRAGILE" on the box in several different places.

If its a large item spend the little extra and ship FedEx as I have always received and sent packages and have never had a single one damaged. Again, include "FRAGILE" on the package in several areas.
 
USPS has created very mysterious delivery delays in my experience. That's why I use UPS. I have also found UPS to be cheaper for the big and heavy things.

But if USPS is better about paying insurance claims, then I might reconsider.
 
I shipped a full PC through UPS about 2 years back, and I paid extra for the option to have them package and insure it so that there was no question of liability.

Sure enough, it showed up damaged on the other end. The handling had been so rough that the video card had been jarred completely out of the PCI-E socket and was just attached by the two bracket screws. Some other stuff too, it had clearly been mishandled.

Going through the claims process was a nightmare. They required a repair quote from a 'qualified' PC repair shop, which according to them meant Best Buy, in order to determine whether they would pay repair costs or replacement cost. Dealing with Best Buy was a nightmare all by itself, the manager didn't want to sign off on it.

It took about two months and who knows how many hours on the phone with UPS and Best Buy, but they did finally cut me a check for MOST of the replacement price, since Best Buy quoted more than the insured value for repairs (lolol).

The silver lining in my case was the manager of the local UPS store I shipped from really went to bat for me, and he's the only reason I haven't written the company off completely. I used that same store the next time I shipped a PC because of him, and they took extra care with it.

If it goes to the claims department though, god help you.
 
I would go with Fedex. I worked for UPS and Fedex express. UPS is rough boxes are being thrown like a soccer ball. Fedex handles packages much better. I had 2 claims with fedex past 5 years and never had an issue. I only used UPS once, because where I moved to has no nearby fedex office. I paid UPS to pack it and ship it, and they still had the guts to deny my claim. I fought for it and finally got the payment, but took 3 months and a lot of nerves.
 
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