Have you ever collected on insurance????


It seems that lately there have been quite a few threads on damaged goods arriving, being stolen or really lost in the shipping business . It seems many of you have made claims that have been turned down. Has anyone ever collected on a less than perfect arrival ? I have been very fortunate in shipping - of course I do not buy speakers from individuals only dealers because they are more than likely to be packed wrong and will suffer through the process and sometimes you cannot tell until you have signed and the guy has gone.
ljgj

Showing 1 response by djjd

Over the years, I have had two items damaged in shipment, both were speakers; one pair was shipped by UPS, the other was shipped by Fed Ex. The damage was cosmetic in both cases (corners dented no doubt from dropping a box on end). I had purchased shipping insurance for full replacement value on both shipments. Before boxing the speakers up for shipment, I had a friend/witness carefully inspect the speakers and test their functioning. I also took pictures of the condition of each speaker (all sides) and packaged them carefully (which I also documented with photos). Finally, when I took the boxed-up speakers to the shipper, I asked the shipping clerk to inspect the boxes to ensure the packaging was satisfactory from their perspective. The FedEx clerk said the packaging was fine; the UPS clerk asked me to open my speaker boxes (which I did) and instructed me to add some additional styro-peanuts on top of the factory packaging (which I also did). I made note of each clerk's name and what they said about my packaging.

When the speakers arrived damaged, I had in hand irrefutable photographic evidence and a sworn statement from a credible witness, as well as assurance from the shipping clerks that my packaging was acceptable. I documented all of this in my claim statement. In both cases, the claims were settled immediately (checks sent to buyer/receiver within about 2 weeks). Thus, my experiences filing an insurance claim with UPS and FedEx were both positive, and I have continued to use both shippers without incident.

Bottom line: We live in a world where some people try to cheat the system by filing false insurance claims; if you can show your shipper that you aren't one of these people, the shipper is much more likely to resolve your claim quickly and favorably. You can do this by carefully documenting the pre-shipment condition (cosmetic and functional) of any fragile item you will be shipping, and then having the shipping clerk inspect/approve your packaging and contents. Damage happens; claim rejections don't have to. Don