ParcelGuard

ParcelGuard is a shipment insurance option available to all US-based ShipEngine accounts. ParcelGuard offers an easy, affordable way to protect your shipments from loss or damage and can save you up to 67% over traditional carrier insurance.

To enable ParcelGuard, all you need to do is activate ShipEngine Carriers. Once you have done so, you can start adding ParcelGuard coverage to your shipments immediately!

Activate ShipEngine Carriers via the Dashboard

You must activate ShipEngine Carriers via the ShipEngine dashboard. You cannot make an API call to programmatically activate ShipEngine Carriers.

Once you enable ShipEngine carriers, you can add ParcelGuard as the insurance carrier for any shipment, via ShipEngine Carriers or any carrier you have connected to ShipEngine.

Then you can programmatically add insurance to a shipment when you make any of these three calls: calculate shipping costscreate a shipment, or purchase a label.

The cost of coverage is based on the amount you assign in the amount property of the insured_value object:

{
    "currency": "USD",
    "amount": 200
}

Review our Add Insurance to Shipments page for a complete call example.

The fee for the insurance will be deducted from your ShipEngine balance. Review our Add Funds to your ShipEngine Balance for details on how to fund your balance.

ParcelGuard Coverage Details

ParcelGuard covers the entire value of a domestic or international shipment up to $10,000.

Instead of relying on additional coverage from the carrier, you can ship with peace of mind knowing that your shipment is protected in its entirety by ParcelGuard against loss or damage during transit.

Per ParcelGuard’s terms and conditions, coverage rates depend on the carrier and service you choose for your shipment and whether the shipment is domestic or international.

Carrier Service

Cost per $100 of Coverage

USPS Domestic

$1.09

USPS International

$1.39

Non-USPS Domestic

$0.99

Non-USPS International

$1.39

File a ParcelGuard Claim

To file a claim for a package insured with ParcelGuard, go to the link provided in the shipment response insurance_claim field and follow the on-screen instructions. By following the link from the response, most of the claim fields will be auto-filled with the required shipment details.

ParcelGuard Refunds for Voided Labels

If you void a label for a shipment that includes ParcelGuard, the insurance cost will be immediately refunded back to your ShipEngine balance.

Notes about ParcelGuard

  • Certain types of goods–including perishables, cash, documents, televisions or monitors, and cigarettes or tobacco–cannot be insured by ParcelGuard. See ParcelGuard's terms and conditions for a full list of goods that cannot be covered.

  • High-value items–including laptops, tablets, cell phones, and jewelry valued at $500 or more–must be shipped with a Signature Confirmation service to be insured by ParcelGuard.

  • ParcelGuard cannot insure shipments to all international destinations. See ParcelGuard's terms and conditions for a full list of unsupported countries.

Communication from ParcelGuard

Once you have filed a claim with ParcelGuard, your documents will be reviewed within 24-48 hours by a representative.

A representative will contact you about your claim. This contact will be by email only.

  • Claim Status and Updates: When a ParcelGuard representative updates a claim you will receive a status update email.

  • Claim Payments: When your claim is paid you will receive an email.

    • Emailed Check (Deluxe): Emailed Checks are sent immediately to the email address you provided when filing a claim.

    • PayPal: PayPal payments are sent immediately to the email address you provided when filing a claim.