Written on:
If you’ve shipped a lot with USPS, chances are you may have had a package go missing or arrive damaged. It happens! That said, a lot of shippers are surprised to learn that, oftentimes, their package didn’t come with USPS insurance coverage…and there’s nothing they can do to file a claim. So, we’re here to make sure you don’t get caught with your pants down if you ever find yourself in this situation! This guide lays out all the USPS services that come with insurance…and all the ones that don’t.
Table of Contents
- The USPS Services That Include Insurance
- Which Services Don’t Come With USPS Insurance Coverage?
- How to File an Insurance Claim with USPS
- Buying Labels with Shipping Software Lets You Insure Packages for Higher Amounts
The USPS Services That Include Insurance
We’ve listed all the USPS services that come with built-in USPS insurance below.
- USPS Ground Advantage
- Priority Mail
- This includes each “sub-service” of Priority Mail, such as Priority Mail Flat Rate, Priority Mail Cubic, and Priority Mail Regional Rate
- Priority Mail Express
Which Services Don’t Come With USPS Insurance Coverage?
On the other hand, these are the services that do not include USPS insurance coverage:
- First-Class Mail
- Certified Mail
- Media Mail
How to File an Insurance Claim with USPS
If your package is lost or damaged and you’ve got built-in USPS insurance on it, you can file your claim directly with USPS here. Once USPS approves your claim, they will send you a check in the mail for up to the full amount of coverage your label comes with. This will vary, depending on whether you purchased your label at the Post Office or with online shipping software. We’re about to go into more detail on that below.
Buying Labels with Shipping Software Lets You Insure Packages for Higher Amounts
Shippers should note that the new USPS Ground Advantage service comes with $100 of built-in USPS insurance whether you purchase postage at the Post Office or online. However, Priority Mail services have different tiers of USPS insurance coverage.
When you walk into the Post Office to ship a package, you may notice that regular Priority Mail service only comes with $50 of protection. However, when you use shipping software to buy postage online, you automatically get upgraded to $100 of insurance for all Priority Mail labels. So, not only do you save money by getting access to the deepest level of USPS discounts, but you also get more protection at no extra cost! Pretty sweet, right?
This is because shipping software offers USPS labels at the Commercial Pricing level. USPS typically reserves Commercial Pricing discounts for their VIP shippers, such as huge companies sending 50,000 or more packages a year. However, since shipping software companies are able to enter bulk negotiations with USPS, you can access this level of pricing for free. Consequently, you can protect your packages with double the insurance amount. That’s a win/win situation if we’ve ever seen one!
Looking for the right shipping software for you?
To get the deepest discounts on all the different USPS shipping services, check out our guide:
Last Updated:
Dale
You are not correct. USPS will only cover the cost of the item in the package and NOT shipping costs. That is right out of their manual.
Debbie
Same thing with their 24 hour delivery. They get out of all the legal reasons to cover the losses. I had a package that wasn’t delivered after paying for the 24 hour delivery higher rate. The receiver got the package after 24 hours post office says package was scanned under 24 hours so it counted but receiving end sat in office waiting no package til after 24 hours. I called reported so many times never got my money back for their guarantee so can’t believe the US post office .
Michael N Schulman
This is not always true. I had a package damaged with photos and I received a letter telling me I needed to bring the damaged item into the post office within 20 days to receive any money for my loss. I no longer had the damaged item. Why would I have the damaged item shipped back to me. Plus the person on the receiving did not have the time to go to the post office to have the item inspected. The post off damaged the item and now I have to jump through hoops to hold them accountable. Not Right!