Extra Services Fact Sheet (2024)

FAQs

What is USPS additional services? ›

Extra services are enhancements that provide greater security and accountability for mail, convenience for the sender, and special handling options. Some extra services include insurance, Certified Mail, COD, Registered Mail, Adult Signature, USPS Tracking, Signature Confirmation and more.

Insurance provides coverage of up to $5,000 for merchandise that is lost, damaged, or with missing contents in the custody of the United States Postal Service®. (Registered Mail® with insurance has a liability limit of $50,000.) Customers can purchase insurance at a local Post Office™ or online.

Priority Mail® provides insurance up to $100 at no additional fee - additional incremental insurance up to $5,000 maximum can be purchased.

Overall, USPS insurance is a great way to protect your items while in transit, and the price is fair. The US Postal Service (USPS) provides package insurance that can provide peace of mind whether you are mailing something across the country or worldwide.

USPS will never charge you a fee to apply for a job or take a Postal Service exam. Be wary of websites that claim to be able to help you apply for a USPS job or that charge a fee to get you a job.

Charges to receive a parcel are only enforced when the sender has incorrectly sent the parcel with the incorrect amount of postage. It's called Postage due. USPS now charges $0.55 for a first-class letter.

Insurance is not available for items that are perishable, flammable, or too fragile to withstand normal handling in the mail. If you have insured an item online, you can mail it at a Post Office, hand it to your carrier, request free package pickup online, or drop it in a USPS collection box.

Priority Mail Express Insurance (for merchandise) is provided automatically up to $100. Documents are insured against loss, damage, or rifling at no additional cost to mailer. Coverage is limited to the actual value of the shipment. Additional coverage may be purchased at any Post Office in increments up to $5,000.

Either the sender or the recipient may file a claim for insured mail that is lost, arrived damaged, or was missing contents. The person filing must have the original mailing receipt. Each claim must be filed within a certain time period and include proof of insurance, value, and damage.

How much does it cost to insure a package? ›

$50.01 to $100 is $2.05. $100.01 to $200 is $2.45. $200.01 to $300 is $4.60. The price per additional $100 of insurance, valued over $300 up to $5,000, is $4.60 plus $0.90 per each $100 or fraction thereof.

After receiving a completed online claim that includes all required supporting documentation for a payable claim, the Postal Service generally pays the claim within 5–7 business days.

Who should buy shipping insurance (buyer or seller)? Generally, the seller is the one who purchases the insurance for the shipments since they are the ones who are responsible for the product until delivery and will incur monetary losses if anything goes away.

The Postal Service includes insurance for the following items: Priority Mail Express service, which includes up to $100 insurance. (See the Note below.) Priority Mail service, which includes up to $50 insurance for most retail packages, and $100 insurance for most commercial packages.

What Is a Good Score on the USPS Assessment Test? The passing score for any of the four Postal Exams is 70, and any score above that is considered good. If you see an ineligible status instead of a score, this means you haven't managed to reach the minimum score of 70.

Returned to the sender with the reason for nondelivery “Returned for Additional Postage” if First-Class Mail with a return address. The sender may affix the additional postage, cross out the reason for nondelivery, and remail the piece.

Pricing is based on the “declared value” of the package. This is basically what you state the contents are worth; if you need to file an insurance claim, the USPS will require proof of that value.

What is Collect on Delivery? Collect on Delivery (COD) is a service that allows the sender to collect from the recipient money for postage, fees, merchandise, or any combination thereof. Each COD item has an identification number, enabling delivery confirmation.

Why would USPS deny a claim? ›

The following conditions justify the denial of a claim: No evidence of insurance coverage is provided. The mail does not bear the complete names and addresses of the mailer and addressee, or is undeliverable as addressed to either the addressee or the mailer.

Claims without a mailing receipt can be filed, but payment may be limited to $100 for Insured Mail, Registered Mail, and Priority Mail Express®, $50 for COD Mail, and up to $100 for Priority Mail (dependent on payment method).

You may appeal a Postal Service decision for a denied claim or partial payment within 30 calendar days from the date of the original decision letter. Focus your appeal on the reason why the Postal Service denied the claim. As part of this appeal, you may attach additional documentation to support your claim.

Priority Mail will provide day-specific delivery information and include insurance (loss, damage, or missing contents) at no additional cost to the customer. The amount of insurance automatically included may be $50 or $100, depending on the postage payment method.

Newly hired postal employees are covered under Social Security and Medicare. The Postal Service offers coverage through the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program. The cost of Basic coverage is fully paid by the Postal Service, with the option to purchase additional coverage through payroll deductions.

insurance up to $50 — for the same Priority Mail rates. package is from pickup, confirmed final delivery and many points in between. Mail package is shipping from and headed to, you'll know whether to expect 1-, 2-, or 3-day specified delivery.

UPS provides maximum liability coverage for shipments up to $100 in value. This coverage is called "Declared Value." Items worth $100 or less can be claimed for up to that amount if they result in a lost, stolen, or damaged shipment.

You may also purchase insurance, up to $5,000, when using any of the following services: USPS Retail Ground. Standard Mail parcels (excluding Marketing Parcels bulk insurance only).

You can receive a refund for mail that is lost or never delivered to its final destination as long as the package is insured. Collect on Delivery (COD) items, registered mail with insurance, Priority Mail Express, and other insured mail services are eligible for refunds via the USPS claim service.

Will USPS give refund on insured package if stolen? ›

USPS may reimburse you for stolen, lost or missing packages if the mail was insured. If your packages weren't insured, they likely won't issue a refund. Instead, you'll want to contact the seller.

Often, it's up to the seller or retailer to ensure that you receive your package. Thus, anything that happens in transit is the responsibility of the seller; they are responsible if the package is lost or damaged during transit, and usually must replace it or give a reimbursem*nt.

Insure using Registered Mail.

Registered Mail is the safest way to send and insure your valuable item. Request Registered Mail at your local post office to receive a proof of mailing and the date and time of each attempted delivery.

The cargo insurance premium on a single shipment is typically calculated as the insured value times the policy rate. And what is insured value? The simplest method to calculate insured value is to add the commercial invoice value of the goods to the cost of freight and add ten percent to cover additional expense.

FedEx Declared Value Cost for 2023

Coverage is free for the first $100 of value, so you pay no additional fees. Many shippers are not aware of this. If the declared value is even one penny over $100, the cost is a minimum of $3.90 up to a value of $300.

Otherwise, Priority Mail® is just the name of the service class, and you can use any box or packaging that you'd like... and for most cases, it's actually cheaper to use your own packaging instead of a Flat Rate service. Use our postage rate calculator to find your most cost effective options.

To help business owners manage their shipping costs, the USPS provides free shipping boxes and envelopes for some of their popular service levels. Here are a few tips to help you take advantage of U.S. Postal Service's free boxes, envelopes, and shipping supplies.

Insurance provides coverage of up to $5,000 for merchandise that is lost, damaged, or with missing contents in the custody of the United States Postal Service®. (Registered Mail® with insurance has a liability limit of $50,000.)

With you every step of the way

Since 1960, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan, also known as the Federal Employee Program (FEP), has provided quality health care coverage. It's made us the number one health insurance choice for active U.S. postal workers.

Customers may file claims for damaged and/or missing contents immediately, but no later than 60 days from the date of mailing.

Who gets paid with shipping insurance? ›

If you end up shipping an item and the recipient wants to return it or they claim it arrives damaged or anything, shipping insurance will protect the buyer and you, as the recipient.

At the end of the day, the decision to purchase shipping insurance is up to you. However, if you're constantly shipping out high-value items, this would definitely be a solid investment for your business. Just make sure to know the policy and the process to ensure that you really get what you're paying for.

Some Companies Require Your Recipient to Sign for a Package in Order to Insure the Shipment. Sending sensitive items like firearms isn't the only instance when you need to add signature confirmation to your package. You'll also need your recipient to sign in order to insure certain high-value or breakable items.

If there is probable cause to believe the contents of a First-Class letter or parcel violate federal law, Postal Inspectors can obtain a search warrant to open the mail piece. Other classes of mail do not contain private correspondence and therefore may be opened without a warrant.

Customers must affix additional postage when mailing letters weighing in excess of 1 ounce and/or letters subject to the nonmachinable surcharge or mailpieces subject to another rate of postage (e.g., large envelopes or packages).

Your package could be stuck in transit for many reasons: loss, damage, or even a USPS tracking system failure. More likely, though, the short-staffed US Post Office has misplaced, mislabelled, or simply overlooked your package. This means it can be located easily enough once you call attention to its absence.

Returned to the sender with the reason for nondelivery “Returned for Additional Postage” if First-Class Mail with a return address. The sender may affix the additional postage, cross out the reason for nondelivery, and remail the piece.

For any domestic mail piece that weighs more than one ounce, you must include additional postage along with your Forever Stamp to ensure USPS delivery. Also, you may purchase higher denomination postage stamps for heavier postage at the Post Office™. Avoid placing two Forever Stamps on a mail piece for heavier mail.

Why would a card need extra postage? ›

You may be unpleasantly surprised with extra postage costs when, for example, you mail a square greeting card. The Postal Service charges extra postage when mail pieces are non-machinable. Pieces that are rigid, extra-thick or unusually shaped, can jam postal equipment and be difficult to process.

USPS Parcel Select Ground is the slowest and cheapest USPS shipping service for mailing large and heavy items that exceed package dimension and weight limits.

First-Class letters and parcels are protected against search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, and, as such, cannot be opened without a search warrant.

Tracking updates may not be in real-time, but they are rarely late or incorrect, and there is rarely cause for concern. If tracking is not updated, make sure you have entered the exact same tracking number. USPS has a tracking number for each shipment, so you must use the correct number.

Because of COVID-19 closures many Americans shifted to purchasing products online while staying at home and the country has experienced a shift in how it conducts business. Increased online sales have led to a higher demand for the USPS's delivery services, resulting in some deliveries taking longer than expected.

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U.S., including its insular areas and associated states.

USPS is designed to ship smaller packages cost-effectively within the United States, while UPS is intended for shipping larger parcels worldwide. Both USPS and UPS offer tracked services for international shipping.

4) What is the difference between UPS and USPS? Generally, UPS specializes in shipping large packages worldwide, whereas USPS concentrates on shipping mail and smaller packages cost-effectively. It is common to get confused between UPS and USPS.