Orlando, Fla.—This holiday season, particularly this year 2020 when most purchases are being done via online shopping the shipping industry will get their customary big bump in packages traffic.

This is also a time when small businesses have emerged as a way to survive this Covid-19 economic crisis.  More people have started online businesses from their home creating additional demand for shipping insurance. Some shipping carriers may offer you a standard coverage that you might find easy and accesible, but some merchants do have specific needs that require the purchase of insurance coverage separately. For example, small businesses considered low volume shippers, who ship single or multiple packages at once. Or, medium-to-large businesses with high shipping volume who need to dispatch unlimited packages. Resourceful business owners have learned that it’s important to reduce the sting of shrinking margins and protect all revenue. One of the best ways to do this is through insurance.

Using a Carrier or a Third-Party?

Getting insurance from a carrier may seem the easiest, but third-party insurance is generally less expensive and provides fuller coverage. 

Declared Value or Cargo

These terms are often interchanged, but they’re not synonyms and their coverage varies greatly. One of the most significant distinctions is that with declared value the shipper must prove that the carrier’s negligence directly resulted in the loss or damage to cargo, which is already very hard to prove. Cargo insurance pays regardless if the loss or damage was due to the carrier’s negligence.

The Importance To Insure Based on What Your Items Are Worth In Retail Channels

You are unlikely to get more insurance compensation for the item than its current retail value.

The No-no’s Of Combining Third-Party Insurance With The Complimentary Insurance Available From Carriers

While not impossible, it will take you a tremendous amount of time and will cost more. Not to mention the process of filing a claim which you will need to do twice.

If the primary insurer denies your claim, the secondary insurer is required by law to abide by the first carrier’s decision. If the primary insurer accepts your claim, you are then required to file a second claim with the secondary insurance carrier and wait for two different companies to pay.

To File Your Claim

Carriers and third-party insurance companies have different cutoff times for filing, so make sure you file soon so that you don’t miss the established time frame. Make sure to comply with the required documentation by each company, since they both will have different ways to process your claim.

At Garzor Insurance our experienced professionals are dedicated to providing commercial insurance coverage for businesses in Florida as well as Georgia, Texas, and now many other states across the U.S.A. If you have questions about business insurance, or any other commercial insurance aspects, please do not hesitate to visit us online at Garzor Insurance, or you may want to call us directly at (321) 206-8035. 

Yaralyn Diaz, CSR

Commercial Lines CSR