If you’re like most business owners, you’ve probably had to decide which shipping carrier is right for your needs. And if you’re like most business owners, you’ve also had to decide whether or not to purchase insurance for your packages.
In this blog post, we’ll compare the shipping options of the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, and FedEx insurance policies and help you decide which one is right for you.
The Importance of Business Shipping Options.
As a business owner, you need to decide what is best for your customers when it comes to shipping. The top factors will be pricing and delivery timeframes. You also need to decide if you want to ship with FedEx, UPS, or USPS.
Reliability and shipping insurance are also other aspects that you’ll need to consider. You’ll need reassurance that your products will be delivered. While shipping insurance is vital for businesses too. Especially if you’re selling products that are valuable or fragile.
What is Shipping Insurance?
Now that we’ve gone over the importance of shipping insurance, let’s define it. Shipping insurance is a service that protects your packages from damage, loss, or theft while in transit. If your package is lost, stolen, or damaged, you can file a claim with the shipping carrier and receive compensation for the value of your goods.
Who Offers It?
All three of the shipping carriers offer some form of shipping insurance. FedEx offers FedEx Advantage, UPS offers UPS Shipping Insurance, and USPS offers USPS Postal Insurance.
How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of shipping insurance depends on the value of your goods, the type of goods you’re shipping, and the carrier you choose.
- FedEx Advantage starts at $0.68 per $100 of coverage and goes up to $500 per package.
- UPS Shipping Insurance starts at $0.75 per $100 of coverage and goes up to a maximum of $50,000 per shipment.
- USPS Postal Insurance starts at $0.35 per $100 of coverage and goes up to a maximum of $500 per shipment.
What Types of Goods are Covered?
Another thing to be mindful of is that your product may determine the best shipment carrier. Here’s an overview of what insurances cover the different shipment categories.
- FedEx Advantage covers FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx International shipments.
- UPS Shipping Insurance covers UPS Air, UPS Ground, and UPS International shipments.
- USPS Postal Insurance covers all USPS mail classes except Standard Mail and Periodicals.
FedEx vs. USPS vs. UPS.
Each shipping company offers different advantages and disadvantages. For example, FedEx is typically more expensive than USPS but they offer faster shipping times. On the other hand, USPS is cheaper but their delivery times can be slower.
FedEx Shipping Insurance.
FedEx offers two types of shipping insurance: declared value coverage and cargo insurance.
- FedEx Advantage is FedEx’s declared value coverage. FedEx Advantage protects your FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx International shipments against loss or damage up to $500 per package. FedEx will reimburse you up to $100 per package at no additional cost.
- Cargo insurance is optional insurance that FedEx offers for FedEx Express and FedEx International shipments. This type of insurance covers lost, stolen, and damaged packages as well as the contents of the package. Cargo insurance covers your shipment against loss or damage up to $100,000 per package.
USPS Shipping Insurance.
USPS offers three types of shipping insurance: basic coverage, declared value coverage, and priority mail express insurance.
- Basic coverage is included in the price of shipping for most USPS services. This means that if your package is lost or damaged, USPS will reimburse you up to $50 per package at no additional cost.
- Declared value coverage is optional insurance that you can purchase for an additional cost. This type of insurance covers lost, stolen, and damaged packages as well as the contents of the package. The amount of reimbursement depends on the value of the contents of the package.
- Priority mail express insurance is optional insurance that you can purchase for an additional cost. This type of insurance covers lost, stolen, and damaged packages as well as the contents of the package. The amount of reimbursement depends on the value of the contents of the package and starts at $100 per package.
UPS Shipping Insurance.
UPS offers two types of shipping insurance: declared value coverage and UPS capital protection.
- Declared value coverage is included in the price of shipping for most UPS services. This means that if your package is lost or damaged, UPS will reimburse you up to $100 per package at no additional cost.
- UPS capital protection is optional insurance that you can purchase for an additional cost. This type of insurance covers lost, stolen, and damaged packages as well as the contents of the package. The amount of reimbursement depends on the value of the contents of the package.
Final Thoughts: Which Shipping Insurance is Right for You?
FedEx, USPS, and UPS all offer different types of shipping insurance. To decide which one is right for you, it’s important to understand the coverage each company offers and the value of your shipment.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to comment below. We would be more than happy to help you out.
