About Third Party Insurance Coverage

[i*m-still-here]

Something I've always done when I buy TPI is to round the numbers.

That is:  If an item sells for $329 plus $68 shipping and I ship with tracked packet I'll insure for $300 even though its not my selling price.

It just occurred to me that TPI providers might get wonky about that.

I just don't see any point in spending $1.50 to cover $29 and so I just insure what makes sense.

($168 is covered by CPO........... and $200 by TPI and $29 would be a loss if the item gets damaged or whatever.)

Does anyone know if they are OK with insuring for less than the selling price?

I'm just about to do it again and thought I'd be sure I'm not throwing my $3 out just in case there is some rule about insuring the entire amount the item sold for.

[marnotom!]

I can't see why a third-party insurer would be concerned about that.  You pay for $300 worth of insurance and that's what you'll get back if you have to file a claim.  Just don't try claiming for $329 when you haven't paid for that much in insurance.

[i*m-still-here]

The idea is that I'd forfeit the $29 in the case of a claim (of course.)

But it just occurred to me that over-insuring could well negate a claim, and so under-insuring might as well.

You know.......... could be a loop-hole.

I did notice that shipsurance added countries they'd insure to their list.

Also............ Off topic........... but has anyone noticed that tracked shipping prints out the cost of shipping?

Totally wonky morning with shipping label issues.

I wish that paypal would force buyers to fill in their addresses in a form which was acceptable for shipping labels.

I spent so long.......... waywayway too long re-arranging a label so it would print, just to be told for the next hour that I'd made too many attempts to print the label and to hit the road.

Yikes.

[pocomocomputing]

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@i*m-still-here wrote:

I did notice that shipsurance added countries they'd insure to their list.

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What countries were added? Just curious.

I just checked and it looks the same to me.  I made my eBay countries I ship to list from the shipsurance approved list years ago and then excluded Africa, Asia and Central America countries even if insured by shipsurance. I check the shipsurance approved list a couple of times a year to verify my list so I am quite familiar with the shipsurance approved country list.

Here is a link to the countries approved by shipsurance

http://www.shipsurance.com/questions.asp#GEN6

[i*m-still-here]

poco........ I know you follow TPI providers closely.

What do you think about insuring a $329 item for $300?

Think they'd give me any trouble?

A while ago I wanted to buy insurance for some Asian country and it wasn't on the list.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

I'm? How much have you paid in insurance? How much have you collected?

[pocomocomputing]

i'm, I would insure for the full value of $329. Since you are getting the insurance for piece of mind, why skimp on the last amount?

[i*m-still-here]

Thanks poco.................. and I agree.  That's what I did.  It's on the way overseas.  The address was wonky and the item is fragile..................  so even though I would have been happy with insuring only the up to $300 I didn't want to take the risk.

inuk .............. I fully agree 100% that with insurance one will "probably" not come out ahead money wise, just as someone will "probably" not come out ahead by buying lottery tickets.

I truly envy those who can ship without a thought to such matters because that fearless attitude would be so freeing.

I always get a little stressed when I have a $200+ sale and have the decision to make about how to ship.

What insurance does is gives me the freedom to sell a $500 item to some stranger in Timbuktu with relative ease.

poco is right on:  I'm buying Peace of Mind and I'm very aware of that.

That said................... in some ways I have come out ahead with insurance.

I can downgrade my method of shipping and spend a few dollars with shipsurance and come ahead on actual cost of shipping.

Also................. 

I have also collected several times for broken items and one was quite expensive and so dollar for dollar that might be even too.

Shipping expensive fragile items isn't the same as shipping post cards, for example.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Shipping expensive fragile items isn't the same as shipping post cards, for example

Sorry, it is exactly the same. A product is a product.

[i*m-still-here]

Some items require double and even triple boxing, and even then I worry when shipping to Australia (the highest risk in my experience for breakage).

I don't know how a post card or stamp or book could compare to that level of risk.

[recped]

I can tell you one thing about TPI, if you ever get anywhere near claiming as much for loss or damage as you have paid in premiums they will stop taking your business.

[i*m-still-here]

recped, that's a good point.

I've never made a claim with TPI providers.

I use the service only in combination with CPO.  That is, when I can downgrade the CPO service and buffer with TPI  and come out ahead then sometimes I do that.

The other thing.............. These companies would be obsolete if there were never a payout.

That is............ Once shipping is so tight that everything arrives at its destination, then the need for insurance will be very limited.

I think we're getting closer to that every day, and it will come in the very near future.

At that point insurance will be only for damages.

I've only collected once for non-arrival, and the rest of my claims were for damages.