FAQs

U-PIC has been insuring packages since 1989. What we have learned is that this business comes down to two main things: rates and claims. U-PIC not only offers the most competitive rates in the industry, but our claims experience will not be beat. U-PIC has the most efficient, technologically driven, claims process in the industry. Our staff of licensed claim representatives will give you a VIP experience through-out the entire process.

Combining over 30 years of expertise with industry-leading technology, U-PIC effectively reduces costs that we then transfer directly to our clients. This approach sets us apart from carriers whose main focus is transportation. U-PIC's specialization in third-party shipping insurance enables us to streamline costs and provide optimal value. Additionally, our partnership with The Continental Insurance Company reinforces our ability to offer substantial savings directly to you.

We have two primary ways to obtain shipping insurance:

1. Use our BUY NOW program, featuring standard rates and reliable carriers. With this convenient program, you have the flexibility to insure a single shipment or multiple shipments at anytime, providing you with peace of mind and protection for your valuable goods.
2. Or, larger merchants can APPLY NOW for a direct volume account and obtain lower, customized rates.

See more about how shipping insurance with U-PIC works here here.

Objectively, yes, adding additional layers of protection to your package as it moves through the postal service is a good idea. Each day, billions of shipments are injected into the postal stream, and each day, more and more of those shipments are lost or damaged. Merchants should weigh the risk vs. reward of adding shipping insurance to their packages, and consider services that third party insurance solutions provide, such as fast claims processing.

See more about why shipping insurance is a good idea here.

Shipping insurance protects both buyers and sellers from the risks associated with shipping packages through the postal system. Shipping insurance is an optional paid service added to a package, 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 a 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. One DVU is equal to $100 worth of insurance coverage. To calculate how much your shipping insurance would cost, multiply the rate of insurance per DVU (or per $100) of coverage needed for the shipment. For example, an item that you are looking to insure for $300 would be insured for 3 DVU’s. If you were to pay $0.45 per DVU, shipping insurance on a $300 package, would cost $1.35. Keep in mind that a DVU is based on a whole unit of measurement, so a package valued at $250 would count as three DVU’s.

You can calculate your rates for BUY NOW shipments using our rate calculator here. Please keep in mind that direct clients may qualify for lower rates.

A "DVU" is a "Declared Value Unit". One DVU is equal to $100 worth of insurance coverage. To calculate how much your shipping insurance would cost, multiply the rate of insurance per DVU (or per $100) of coverage needed for the shipment. For example, an item that you are looking to insure for $300 would be insured for 3 DVU’s. If you were to pay $0.45 per DVU, shipping insurance on a $300 package, would cost $1.35. Keep in mind that a DVU is based on a whole unit of measurement, so a package valued at $250 would count as three DVU’s.

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.

You can see our standard coverage rules here.

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

As long as a package originates within the U.S. or Canada, it can be insured to any country, with the exception of the countries listed on our excluded countries list, and a few zip codes where coins and jewelry cannot be mailed.

See what countries are excluded when you have a direct policy with U-PIC here.

See what countries are covered when purchasing insurance from the BUY NOW section on U-PIC or through your web account here.

See excluded zip codes here.

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.

• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Cote d'ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• Cuba
• Iran
• Jordan
• Libya
• Montenegro
• Nigeria
• Paraguay
• Russia
• Sierra Leone
• Sri Lanka
• Syria
• Yemen
• Algeria
• Belarus
• Burundi
• Croatia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Iraq
• Liberia
• Moldova
• Myanmar (Burma)
• North Korea
• Republic of the Congo
• Serbia
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Togo
• Zimbabwe

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

• AFO / DPO / FPO Military Mail
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• Czech Republic
• Dominican Republic
• Egypt
• Finland
• Germany
• Guatemala
• Hong Kong
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Samoa
• South Korea
• Sweden
• Taiwan
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• Venezuela
• Argentina
• Austria
• Bangladesh
• Belgium
• Canada
• China
• Cyprus
• Denmark
• Ecuador
• Estonia
• France
• Greenland
• Guyana
• Hungary
• India
• Israel
• Jamaica
• Luxembourg
• Mauritius
• Moldova
• Namibia
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Ukraine
• United States

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.

Please be aware that our policy explicitly excludes the following scenarios:

• Loss, damage, or non-arrival of any parcel that is addressed, wrapped, or packed insufficiently, incorrectly, or contrary to the carrier's packaging requirements.
• Parcels bearing a descriptive label or packaging that tends to reveal the nature of their contents.

To ensure the safe transit of your shipments, we strongly recommend following carrier packaging requirements.

For best practices, please review our Packaging Guidelines page.

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

No. U-PIC can integrate with many different shipping software platforms. Just let us know what platform you use and we can work with you.

Some popular shipping software platforms that generate reports that are compatible with U-PIC are:

• DesktopShipper
• Endicia Dazzle
• Etsy
• FedEx Ship Manager
• FedEx Web Reporting
• ReadyShipper
• Shiprush
• ShipWorks
• Ship Station
• ShippingEasy
• ShipWorks
• Shopify
• Stamps.com
• UPS Worldship
• USPS Click-N-Ship
• V-Technologies StarShip
• and many more!

At U-PIC, we're dedicated to expanding the reach of our insurance solutions to a wider audience. If you're involved with a label printing platform or an ecommerce solution, we're excited to explore opportunities for enhancing the value of your existing services through collaboration. Let's engage in a conversation about how we can work together to benefit both parties.

We provide our direct clients with a handful of convenient methods for reporting shipments to U-PIC, tailored to suit your needs. Whether you prefer to provide one-off shipment details through your online manifest, send a monthly report of shipments to be billed off, or connect through our REST API to provide records, we have you covered.

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

While persishable cargo is considered an excluded comodity under our standard coverage rules, there's an option to obtain coverage for perishable cargo through an endorsement for clients who hold a direct policy with U-PIC.

Our standard coverage rules state that packages are covered while in transit from point A to point B. Once the package is delivered, any loss or damage after that point will not be covered by U-PIC. However, there's an option to obtain coverage for porch piracy through an endorsement for clients who hold a direct policy with U-PIC.

Clients who hold a direct account or web account, with U-PIC can log in to file a claim.

After filing, a claim number will be provided, along with the ability to upload any of additional required documents and an option to send the recipient an electronic affidavit. For detailed instructions on what is required when filing a claim, please see the provided claims instructions.

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 paper check, ACH, echeck, or wire depending on the preferences of the direct account holder. Claims are always paid out to the shipper/policy holder unless otherwise requested in writing by the shipper/policyholder.

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.

You can cancel your claim by clicking the cancel button under the claim status page for the corresponding claim at anytime. Or you can contact claims@u-pic.com and we can cancel your claim for you.

Clients who hold a direct account or web account with U-PIC can log in to their account to see all of their claims.

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

If you forgot your account details, you can reach out to U-PIC support.

We provide our direct clients with a handful of convenient methods for reporting shipments to U-PIC, tailored to suit your needs. Whether you prefer to provide one-off shipment details through your online manifest, send a monthly report of shipments to be billed off, or connect through our REST API to provide records, we have you covered.

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 log in to their account to file a claim.

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

Clients who hold a direct account or web account with U-PIC can log in to their account to see all of their claims.

Clients who do not hold a direct account or web 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 to see all of their orders.

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