Shipping Protection
Shipping Protection plans give customers confidence that their order is safe from loss, damage, or theft during transit. These plans cover incidents that occur after the product leaves your fulfillment center but before it's successfully received by the customer.
Umbrella allows you to offer this protection as a low-cost upsell or included benefit — with fully automated claim handling and resolution, all under your brand.
What Is Shipping Protection?
Shipping Protection covers the “last mile” — where most order-related issues occur. It helps mitigate costs and customer frustration when shipments go missing, are stolen, or arrive damaged.
Examples of common scenarios:
- A package marked “delivered” but not received
- A crushed box with broken contents
- An item stolen from a doorstep
- Shipment lost or stuck in transit
What It Covers
Typical incidents include:
- Lost in transit (carrier stops updating)
- Stolen after delivery (proof required)
- Damaged upon arrival
- Wrong item shipped (optional coverage)
You can define exclusions such as:
- PO Box deliveries
- Signature-required shipments
- Non-domestic orders
How It Works
Plan Creation
To create a Shipping Protection plan:
- Go to Warranties > Create Plan
- Select Shipping Protection as the plan type
- Set a fixed fee (e.g., $1.99) or percentage of cart total
- Define incident types and required evidence
- Configure default resolution (credit or reship)
- Enable auto-approval for common carrier issues
Assignment
Shipping Protection is automatically available to all customers at checkout. It appears as a separate line item and can be:
- Opt-in (customer selects it)
- Opt-out (included by default but removable)
Customer Experience
- Customer sees the Shipping Protection option during checkout
- If selected, it's added to the order as a line item
- Order is fulfilled and shipped as normal
- If delivery fails or damage occurs, customer submits a claim via your branded portal
- Claim includes optional photo proof or delivery details
- If approved, customer receives a replacement or store credit
This experience is entirely branded — no third-party portals or insurance logos.
Claim Rules & Resolution
- Auto-approve lost-in-transit claims after 7 days of inactivity
- Require a photo for visible damage claims
- Auto-resolve under a certain value (e.g., <$50) with gift card or reshipment
- Manually review edge cases (e.g., repeated claims, vague evidence)
All logic is configurable per plan and applies across your entire store.
Analytics & Reporting
Track:
- Shipping claim volume and resolution rate
- Claim cost vs. plan revenue
- Orders with vs. without protection
- High-risk carriers or regions based on incidents
Use this data to fine-tune your protection pricing and default opt-in strategy.
Best Practices
- Offer protection as opt-in with a small fee ($1.99–$3.99)
- Use clear language like “Protect this shipment” at checkout
- Auto-approve claims for delivery failures using carrier data
- Pair with a fulfillment SLA to reduce escalations