Do You Really Need Shipping Insurance This Peak Season?

Peak season brings a rush of orders, new customers, and plenty of pressure to deliver on time. 

And with higher shipping volumes come higher risks: lost packages, damaged goods, and delivery delays that can eat into your profits and your customers’ trust.

Many businesses turn to shipping insurance to mitigate the risks, while others wonder if the added cost is worth it.

In this second part of our three-article series, we’ll walk through two versions of peak season for a small ecommerce brand—one without shipping insurance and one with it. The brand is fictional, but the challenges it faces are common for growing businesses.

The brand: Sola Perfume

Before diving in, let’s meet Sola Perfume. They’re a small ecommerce fragrance brand known for hand-crafted perfumes inspired by natural botanicals. 

The holidays are Sola’s busiest time of year, as customers stock up on gift sets and limited-edition scents. As peak season approaches, the team at Sola faces a decision: should they insure their packages or cross their fingers and hope for the best?

Peak season WITHOUT shipping insurance

In scenario number one, Sola Perfume decides not to purchase shipping insurance, instead relying on carrier-included coverage. It seems reasonable at first—most carriers include limited coverage (usually up to $100 per package), and serious issues have been rare in the past. 

But as holiday order volumes climb, so do the risks.

Here’s how the season plays out:

• Fragile products get damaged in transit. Even with careful packaging, a few perfume bottles break along the way. Customers open their boxes to find a very strong—and very expensive—mess.
• Carrier insurance falls short. Many of Sola’s high-end scents exceed the $100 coverage limit. For the orders that do qualify, filing claims is slow and paperwork-heavy.
• Replacements cut into profits. When orders worth over $100 run into trouble, Sola pays for replacements to protect its brand image. That means covering both the product cost and the shipping cost out of pocket.
• Theft isn’t covered. Carrier-provided coverage doesn’t protect against porch piracy. When customers report stolen packages, Sola either absorbs the cost of a replacement or risks losing their loyalty.

By the end of December, sales numbers look strong, but profit margins are thinner than expected. 

The team realizes that skipping insurance may have saved a little upfront but has cost much more in the long run.

Peak season WITH shipping insurance

Let’s imagine a different peak season, one where Sola decides to insure their shipments. They pay a small fee per package so that every package—no matter its value—is protected against loss, damage, and theft.

Here’s the difference this season:

• Broken or lost packages don’t hurt profits. When something goes wrong, Sola files a quick claim and gets reimbursed for the product and shipping costs.
• High-value orders are fully covered. Even their premium perfumes that exceed carrier limits are protected in full.
• Theft coverage brings peace of mind. If a package is stolen after delivery, Sola can make things right for the customer without financial stress.
• Customer satisfaction stays high. Replacements are sent quickly, customers stay happy, and the brand’s reputation remains strong.

By January, Sola has weathered their busiest season yet with minimal stress. A small upfront investment in shipping insurance turned out to be one of the simplest ways to protect their profits—and their customer relationships—through the holidays.

Meet EasyPost Guard

If you like the idea of protecting every shipment this peak season, EasyPost Guard can help. 

This suite of solutions makes shipping insurance simple, fast, and reliable, so you can focus on fulfilling orders, not chasing claims.

USPS Claims

Businesses that ship with USPS can take advantage of $100 worth of insurance coverage that’s included with select labels. But too many don’t take the time to file claims and recoup the money they’re owed. It’s complicated and time-consuming, and it ends up on the back burner—permanently.

That’s where USPS Claims comes in. This service streamlines the filing process by automatically identifying and filing claims for eligible parcels, eliminating the manual work. 

Since you only pay when your claim is approved by USPS, it’s a low-cost and low-effort way to get a lot more out of your shipping insurance.

Shipping Insurance API

The EasyPost Shipping Insurance API makes it easy to add coverage for any shipment, regardless of carrier, destination, or value. Coverage protects against loss, theft, and damage, and claims can be filed in under 10 minutes. Packages can be insured for up to $15,000 per shipment, providing peace of mind and helping protect your profits during peak season.

Norton Shopping Guarantee

Some businesses prefer to give customers the option to purchase shipping insurance rather than adding it to every package by default. The easiest way to set up optional shipping insurance is a solution like Norton Shopping Guarantee.

Norton Shopping Guarantee provides post-purchase shipping protection and adds a trusted verification for your brand. 

Customers who add package protection to their purchase are covered if their order is lost, stolen, or damaged, and every shopper sees a third-party trust badge that reassures them your store is legitimate and reliable.

Crush this peak season with EasyPost

Shipping mishaps eat into profits and stress your team, especially when fragile or high-value orders are on the line. EasyPost Guard’s insurance solutions make it easy to protect every shipment, streamline claims, and give your customers peace of mind.

Make this peak season your most successful yet by getting started with USPS Claims, EasyPost Shipping Insurance, or Norton Shopping Guarantee.

Learn more here.

P.S. Interested in more tools that take small business shipping to the next level? Read the other articles in this series:

• Do You Really Need a Shipping API This Peak Season?
• Do You Really Need Package Tracking This Peak Season? (Coming soon!)