About Shipment Insurance through UPS Capital Insurance Agency
- Insure most shipments valued up to $100,000 without prior approval
- $0 deductible for many commodities. To see a list of commodities with deductibles or other restrictions, see the UPS Capital Insurance Customer Reference Guide
- Expedited insurance claims for shipments value up to $5000
- Covered losses are valued at the amount of invoice value, and the cost of freight. Plus, for new goods, up to 10% of the insured value
- In the event a shipment contains multiple commodities, the highest deductible and insuring conditions of the shipped commodities will apply
- For more information about UPS Capital shipment insurance see the UPS Capital Insurance Customer Reference Guide
Differences Between Carrier Liability and Shipment Insurance
Carrier Liability
A regulated Motor Carrier operating in interstate commerce (most interstate trucking companies) is liable to Shipper (their customers) for loss, damage or delay under a federal law called the Carmack Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act. Since 1935, the Carmack Amendment has provided a uniform, national standard to limit the liability of Motor Carriers for loss, damage or delay to freight shipments. However, the Carmack Amendment does not impose liability on Motor Carriers for shipments for a wide variety of reasons. For example, if the Shipper waives liability in the bill of lading above a specified value, the claim is limited to the declared value. Another example is that a Motor Carrier is not liable for intrastate shipments. In addition, to obtain payment for a claim under the Carmack Amendment, a Shipper must prove numerous facts, including the following: (1) delivery of freight to the Motor Carrier in good condition; (2) delivery to the person named in the bill of lading for freight that is short, damaged or unreasonably late; and (3) the amount of actual loss or injury to the freight. Under the Carmack Amendment, there are multiple other reasons that the Motor Carrier does not have to pay claims by Shippers, including proof by the Motor Carrier that it was not negligent or that the loss was due solely to an act of the Shipper.
Shipment Insurance
Shipment insurance pays for loss, damage or delay different from the coverage provided by the Carmack Amendment. For example, a claim by a Shipper for freight loss, damage or delay may be covered by shipment insurance, regardless of whether the shipment was intrastate. Similarly, shipment insurance may cover loss, damage or delay without regard to whether the Motor Carrier was negligent or the claim was due to the negligence of the Shipper. The only way to know whether particular freight loss, damage and delay are covered by shipment insurance is to read the policy.
