Each courier service will have their own procedures and policies for dealing with parcels that have been lost or damaged in transit. You should always check with you chosen courier service to see what procedures they have in place. All good courier and parcel delivery services will have this type of information easily accessible from their websites, most often as part of their terms and conditions.

Missing parcels

Even with the aid of computerisation, parcels can still go missing en-route. At least now however, missing parcels are more quickly dealt with. Bar-coding, scanning and other computerised parcel tracking methods mean that it’s very easy to see where a parcel went – and more importantly – where it didn’t go. If your parcel hasn’t arrived, that means you haven’t signed for it; that’s pretty easy to prove. The first step is to phone the courier company or even look on line to track your parcel. If indeed the parcel is lost, the company will direct you to an online or hard copy claims process. In some cases – buying goods from large online retailers for example – you can turn the claims process over to the retailer.

Damaged parcels

The most important thing is to take photos of the parcel and the goods immediately. You will usually have around ten working days to submit a claim for damages to the courier company. Most courier and parcel delivery services will have an online claims processing area which can greatly speed things up. As with missing parcels, you will sometimes have the option of turning everything over to the sender of the parcel.

Insurance and declarations

One of the principal reasons for declaring the type and value of goods in parcels, is for the purposes of insurance claims. If your parcel goes missing or is damaged, the first thing the courier service will check is the stated nature and value of the parcel. This information should have been filled out by the sender, however the courier company has a responsibility to ensure all paperwork is filled out before taking possession of goods. The only time you’re likely to see a problem is if the sender of the parcel has put an incorrect value or description on the courier documents.

Insuring expensive parcels

Many courier companies will only insure up to a set value of goods carried – $1,000 for example. For any goods over this value, the parcel service will recommend that you purchase additional insurance. This will usually cost a few dollars for each $1,000 of parcel value. In some ways however, this is a bit of a rip off. If the type of goods in your parcel are not specifically excluded by the courier’s terms and conditions, then they should be covered for loss or damage regardless of the value. This is an important point to consider when choosing a parcel or courier service.

Exceptions

Not all goods can or should be dispatched via standard courier services. For a variety of reasons – most of which will be quite obvious – there are many goods which are best dealt with via specialised courier or transportation services and, as such, are not covered by standard courier insurance.

The following goods are commonly not covered by insurance:

• Deeds, securities, treasury notes and the like
• Designs and patterns, plans, manuscripts and all other documents
• Livestock, bloodstock and living creatures
• Money (including bank notes and coins), stamps, duty stamps, tickets and the like
• Household goods and personal effects
• Fine art and jewellery
• Arms and ammunition
• Foodstuffs and other perishables

Find out all about what is and isn’t covered by loss and damages insurance before you choose a local or international courier or parcel delivery service.