U-PIC combines over 26 years of expertise with industry-leading technology to cut costs that we pass directly onto our clients. U-PIC's focus is on insurance, where the carriers priority is on their transportation business and have little desire to create an insurance solution that is competitive.

We have two primary ways to obtain shipping insurance:

• Use our BUY NOW feature if you are a small merchant or an individual who wants to buy shipping insurance on a single package as needed.
• Larger merchants can APPLY for an account and obtain lower, customized rates on your higher volume.

See more about how shipping insurance works here.

Objectively, yes, adding additional layers of protection to your parcel as it moves through the delivery process is a good idea. Each day, billions of parcels are injected into the delivery stream, and each day, more and more of them are lost or damaged. It may not be necessary for parcel that is valued at less than $100 if a buyer or shipper is utilizing the shipping carrier’s free coverage, but it may be a good investment against the risk of sending parcel that is worth more than you are willing to write off in the event of loss or damage.

Buyers and sellers should weigh the risk vs. reward of adding optional shipping insurance to their parcels. It is worth it to also consider using a 3rd party shipping insurance solution, like U-PIC to save money and get claims paid out faster, in the event of loss or damage.

See more about the benefits of insurance here.

Shipping insurance protects both buyers and sellers from the risks associated with shipping products through the mail system. Shipping insurance is a paid service added to a parcel, designed to compensate the buyer or seller in the event that the contents of a parcel are damaged, lost, or stolen while in transit.

When some form of loss takes place during transit, a claim may be filed with the insurer, and the claimant may be indemnified by the insurer up to the declared value that was insured.

Shipping insurance may be bought and paid for by a buyer (of products), or seller. The party who purchases the insurance is the insured, and is also the party who will be indemnified once the claim has been adjusted.

Shipping insurance is calculated in $100 increments, called Declared Value Units, or DVU’s for short. To figure out how much insurance on any package would cost, simply multiply the rate of insurance that you pay per DVU, by the value of the package that you intend to ship. An item that you are looking to insure for $300, would be insured at 3 DVU’s. If you were to pay $0.45 per DVU, shipping insurance on a package holding a value of $300, would cost $1.35. A DVU is based on a whole unit of measurement, meaning a package insured for a value of $250, would count as three DVU’s.

Please contact us if you have further questions about how shipping insurance is calculated or how it may benefit your business.

Our standard list of exclusions include: Accounts, bills, bullion, currency, deeds, evidence of debt, furs, original/fine art, computer chips, money, notes, securities, perishable cargo, precious/semi-precious stones, televisions, tickets, laptop computers, cellphones, personal goods, or similar property unless endorsed in writing.

*These exclusions may be different based on the details of your policy with U-PIC.

As long as the package is originating within the U.S. or Canada, it can be insured to any country, with the exception of the countries we have listed on our restricted countries list (see the following two questions), and a few zip codes where coins and jewelry cannot be mailed (see "Are there any excluded zip codes?").

This list of excluded countries is specifically for clients that hold direct volume policies with U-PIC, or any of its vendors. Packages sent to these countries can not be insured.

The following are the countries covered in our 'Buy Now' or guest account programs. Any country not listed here is excluded from coverage.

Yes. For coins and jewelry, U-PIC will not insure shipments to or from the following zip codes:

• 10017
• 10036
• 94102
• 94108

Yes! If you include your shipping costs in your declared value when you purchase your insurance, they can be reimbursed in the event of a claim.

Packages are required to meet carriers standards. Every carrier has information on best practices when shipping your packages through them. For information on where this can be found please feel free to contact us.

No. Every shipper has a unique set of circumstances that we custom build programs to meet.

U-PIC is always looking for more ways to bring our insurance solution to as many people as possible. If you have a label printing platform or ecommerce solution we would love to talk about adding more value to your current offering.

The consignee is the buyer or intended recipient of the package.

Damage:

• There is no waiting period for damaged parcels. You can file as soon as you are notified that a package arrived damaged. Please be sure to get photos and a description of the damage from the recipient.

Loss:

• For lost domestic shipments, there is a 21 day waiting period from the ship date of the package that you must wait before you can file a claim for loss.
• For lost international shipments, there is a 45 day waiting period from the ship date of the package that you must wait before you can file a claim for loss.
• For lost international shipments to Italy, there is 60 day waiting period from the ship date of the package that you must wait before you can file a claim for loss.

*These requirements may be different based on the details of your policy with U-PIC.

All claims must be filed before 90 days from the date of shipment to be honored.

*This requirement may be different based on the details of your policy with U-PIC.

The standard requirements to complete a claim are as follows:

• A copy of the invoice between the seller and the buyer for the merchandise in the shipment.
• A statement from the consignee confirming the loss or damage of the shipment. If the shipment is lost, the statement from the consignee must be dated after the waiting period for the package.
• And pictures of the damaged package and product if the package arrived damaged.

*These requirements may be different based on the details of your policy with U-PIC.

All claims are paid out via check. Claims are always paid out to the shipper/policy holder unless otherwise requested in writing by the shipper/policy holder.

Yes! As long as you included your shipping costs in your declared value at the time of purchase, you may include your shipping costs in your claim value.

You can cancel your claim at anytime by clicking the CANCEL button under your claim status page. Or you can reach out to us at claims@u-pic.com at anytime and we can cancel it for you.

Clients who hold a direct account or guest account with U-PIC can log in to their account and see all of their claims under the claims tab.

Clients who do not hold a direct account or guest account with U-PIC will have to look up their claims individually by tracking number.

U-PIC has many different options for reporting insured shipments. We are integrated into several shipping software applications, and can provide export options if you are using carrier software.

We will work with you to find the best reporting method for you.

Clients who hold a direct account, or web account, with U-PIC can file a claim online by logging into their account and clicking on the claim link for the shipment in question.

After completing a simple form, a claim number will be provided along with the ability to upload any of additional required documents, as well as an option to send the recipient an electronic affidavit. For detailed instructions on what is required when filing a claim, please see the claims instructions located at the top of the 'file a claim' section on the website.

Clients who hold a direct account or guest account with U-PIC can log in to their account and see all of their claims under the claims tab.

Clients who do not hold a direct account or guest account with U-PIC will have to look up their claims individually by tracking number.

Clients who hold a direct account, or web account, with U-PIC can log in to their account and see all of their placed orders under the orders tab.

Clients who do not hold a direct account, or web account, with U-PIC will have to keep track of their orders personally.