Shipping companies like UPS make it possible to ship all manner of things, from personal, sentimental items to more lavish, expensive objects.
Since you can fit some pretty expensive things into a UPS box, does UPS offer insurance- and if so, what do you need to know about how to use it? If you’d like to find out, keep reading!
Are UPS Packages Insured In 2024?
UPS packages are all automatically insured for up to $100 in 2024. If you want to insure a package that is worth more than $100, you must use UPS’ declared value program, which can cover your package for up to $50,000 in insurance. All packages, including UPS Ground, have $100 of automatic insurance coverage, which will be paid back if the package is lost or damaged while in UPS custody.
If you’re shipping a package containing valuable items with UPS, or just want to know if doing so is a good idea, be sure to check out the rest of the article to learn more!
How Much Does It Cost to Insure a UPS Package?
All packages shipped with UPS have an automatic $100 worth of insurance coverage applied.
Therefore, no matter what you’re shipping or if you have insurance for your item, if the item is lost or damaged in UPS custody, you are eligible to receive up to $100 in reimbursement.
The cost of this insurance is automatically built into the shipping costs of your package, so there’s no need to purchase additional insurance if your package is worth $100 or less.
If your package is worth $100 or more, however, you’ll need to use UPS’ declared value program to ensure UPS is aware of and bound to the financial liability of handling your package.
Declaring a value of over $100 is not technically insurance, but it does help create a paper trail that will help you get your money back if something happens to your package.
UPS does charge a fee for declared value packages, and that fee is dependent on how much you say your package is worth, which is referenced in this article.
For every package with a value of $0 to $100, UPS automatically insures it at no additional cost.
For packages worth $100.01 to $300, insurance is $3.45 per package.
For any packages that are worth more than $300, UPS charges an additional $1.15 per additional $100 in declared value.
In the case of exceptionally valuable international shipments, or international shipments worth more than $50,000, UPS multiples the declared value of the package by $0.009.
So, for example, let’s say you want to ship a package that’s worth $1,050 using UPS’ declared value system.
To figure out your declared value charge, you’d need to multiply $1.15 by 11, which brings your declared value charge to an additional $12.65 on top of the cost of shipping.
There are limitations on UPS’ declared value system, however, that you need to consider before shipping.
Those limitations mostly surround maximum declared values in certain situations, which are as follows:
- $50,000 for a package shipped when a UPS account number is provided or from a location of the UPS Store
- $5,000 for a package shipped using a payment card as the payment method via UPS Internet Shipping
- $1,000 for packages returned via UPS Print Return Label, UPS Print and Mail Return Label, Electronic Return Label, or 1 UPS Pickup Attempt, Return Services, and UPS Returns on the Web
- $1,000 for a package shipped via a third-party retailer
- $500 for a package shipped at a UPS Drop Box
- $500 for an international shipment containing jewelry
- Shippers cannot declare a value for UPS Prepaid Letters
- $999 for packages shipped using Shipper Release
Again, it’s important to remember that while declared value is great for ensuring UPS shares and is aware of the financial liability around a package, the value is not necessarily the same as insurance.
UPS uses declared value to help determine its maximum liability in the event the package is lost or damaged but doesn’t guarantee that in the event of loss or damage, they will pay every cent of an item’s declared value as reimbursement.
Events, issues, and items that are not covered under UPS’ declared value program are:
- Articles of unusual value
- Prepaid Letters
- Insects or vermin, deterioration, dampness of atmosphere, extreme temperature, ordinary wear or tear
- Improper packaging
- Perishable Commodities
- Human remains
- Checks: UPS will not pay for the face value of the check
- Fluorescent tubes or bulbs
- Data stored on any media
- Acts of God, natural disasters, war risks, acts of terrorism, nuclear damage, acts of public authorities, riots, strikes, civil unrest, disruptions in air or ground transportation networks, or adverse weather conditions
- Any package or shipment without a scan
To read more about UPS’ declared value program, you can check out this page on the company website.
Is Insurance Included in UPS Ground?
All UPS shipping services, including UPS Ground, include insurance.
This means that even if you choose to ship with UPS’ most inexpensive service, you can receive up to $100 in reimbursement for a package that is damaged or lost.
Just like with any other shipping service, you should consider using UPS’ declared value program for packages that need more than $100 worth of insurance coverage.
Will UPS Pay Back Insurance for Lost Packages?
In the event that your package is lost while in UPS custody, UPS will usually pay the insurance amount for the package.
UPS also pays back insurance claims for items that are damaged.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that the value UPS pays is not to exceed $100 per package unless your declared value states otherwise.
To get an insurance payment from UPS concerning a lost or damaged package, the first thing you should do is file a claim.
You can file a claim by visiting this page of the UPS website and creating an account with various information, such as your name and address.
When filing a claim, it’s important that you provide as much information about the package as possible.
This information includes the tracking number, weight, contact information for the intended recipient of the package, and any other supporting documentation.
It usually takes UPS anywhere from 8 to 15 business days to process a claim before approving or denying it.
This gives UPS plenty of time to try and track down the package and verify all of the information you’ve provided.
Once a claim has been approved and payment paperwork has been provided, processing can take 3 to 5 days before you receive your payment.
If you’d like to read more about the claims process and what you can expect from UPS in terms of communication, payment, and documentation required, you can check out this article.
What Will UPS Not Insure?
Just like many other companies, UPS does place restrictions on the items that theft insures and the degree to which certain items are insured.
There are two categories to these items:
Uninsurable items are not covered to any degree by UPS insurance, and items with liability limits are insured to a very limited degree.
UPS uninsurable items are:
- Cash
- Coins
- Any type of currency
- Precious stones
Items with liability limits through UPS are as follows:
- Checks
- UPS will not pay for the face value of the check, only the cost of stopping and reissuing the check
- Phone cards, gift cards, tickets, other printed matter with a certain exchange value attached
- Just like with checks, UPS is not liable for the face value of any such items, only the cost of replacing the physical, printed matter
- Media
- UPS only accepts liability for the cost of replacing the physical media on which the content is recorded, not the value of the content itself
- Pairs or parts
- In the event of damage to a pair/set, UPS’ liability is limited to the value of the part of the pair or set that was damaged, not the value of the full set
- In the event of damage to any portion of an item that, when complete for sale/use, consists of several parts, UPS is only liable for the part damaged, not the value of the complete item
To learn more, you can also read our posts on whether or not USPS takes UPS packages, can you reroute a UPS package, interesting UPS statistics, and UPS complaints.
Conclusion
There are no costs associated with insuring UPS packages, as every UPS package is insured automatically for up to $100.
There is a cost, however, associated with using UPS’ declared value program, which is an alternative to insurance intended for packages whose value exceeds $100.
