subject: Do I Have To Buy Insurance For My Courier Driver? [print this page] Insurance is an important part of every transaction that takes place involving a courier company or delivery service. The risk would simply be far too great to try and transport goods that weren't covered by ample amounts of insurance. This is why the average courier service in Chicago is going to have a larger amount of insurance; enough to cover every single shipment that they pickup.
These companies are going to have regular insurance on all of their vehicles and drivers, just like your own company would. However, they also carry a specialized type of insurance specific to their industry. Courier insurance is meant only to protect the value of the packages themselves that they are carrying, rather than including the vehicles and accident liability as well.
The good thing about courier insurance is how comprehensive it usually is. If you were to ask most courier companies what sorts of damage their insurance covered to your packages it would be a long list. Theft, vandalism, weather damage, water damage, damaged caused by an accident, courier negligence, loss, and incorrect deliveries may all be covered by their insurance policy.
While the types of damage are fairly all encompassing, the amounts of money that the courier is protected for may not always be adequate. This isn't usually a problem with people shipping small packages on a day to day basis. If you're using a courier company though to ship something which by most standards is considered extremely valuable, you may need to purchase additional insurance.
If you ask your courier what the maximum declared value is for your shipment, you will know what the maximum amount you will be paid is in the case that your package should become damaged. When that number is much less than whatever the actual value of your package is, you are going to have to buy some additional insurance for your shipment.
The first thing you should do is talk to the courier. If they are set up to offer additional insurance through their provider this is often the best rate you can get. If not however, you will need to contact your own insurance company and find out what your options are for insuring your shipment. Sometimes you will need to take out a large policy to cover the entire shipment, other times you may simply be able to add on a small rider to cover the true value of your order.
by: Norman Packwell
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