How to Ship with Insurance in ShipHero

Shipping is a cornerstone of the customer experience. When a package goes missing or arrives damaged, your first priority is taking care of the customer to protect your reputation and encourage repeat orders. However, once the customer is satisfied, you need a way to recover your costs.

Shipping insurance is the primary tool to help you manage this risk. By integrating coverage directly into your order management processes, you can automate your protection and focus on growing your business.

Important Note: Shipping insurance is typically provided by the carrier (e.g., UPS, FedEx, USPS) or a third party when generating the label, not ShipHero itself. Rates are subject to carrier terms and may not always appear in the initial shipping quote. Always partner with your carriers for specific coverage details and to file insurance claims.

Table of Contents

• Behind the Scenes: What Happens When Insurance is Added?
• How to Enable Insurance
• Pro-Tip: Optimize with Thresholds

Behind the Scenes: What Happens When Insurance is Added?

Once an order is flagged for insurance, ShipHero’s system handles the technical data to ensure the carrier recognizes the coverage:

• Order Level: The system updates the order record and commits the coverage amount to the database.
• Package Level: In single-package orders, the full insurance amount applies to the one package. In multi-package orders, ShipHero automatically splits the insurance amount equally among all packages in the shipment.
• Label Creation: When the label is generated, ShipHero passes the insurance flag and the insurance amount directly to the carrier's API.

How to Enable Insurance

ShipHero offers two flexible ways to add coverage to your orders, depending on your operational needs.

Manual Setup (Individual Orders)

If you have a one-off high-value shipment, you can manage this directly on the order's details page:

1. Open the order details page.
2. Check the Insure Order checkbox in the right-hand column. 
3. Set the Insurance Amount: By default, the package will be insured for the order subtotal. To override this, simply enter your desired dollar amount in the text box.

4. Click Update Details to save your changes.

Automatic Setup (Automation Rules)

To save time and ensure consistency, you can use Automation Rules to apply insurance to orders automatically when they import or are created based on specific triggers. 

1. Go to the Orders > Automation Rules page and click Create New Rule .
2. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Insure High Value Orders").
3. Select a Trigger: Define which orders need insurance (e.g., "If Order Subtotal is greater than $200" or "If Vendor is Brand Name").
4. Select the Action: Choose "Set Insurance" from the dropdown menu.
   • Optional: Instead of having the insurance amount default to the subtotal of the orer you can set it based on the value of the products on the order by adding the Action: Set Insurance Amount Based on Products Value.

5. Click Create to activate the rule.

Pro-Tip: Optimize with Thresholds

To balance cost and safety, we recommend setting an Automation Rule based on a "Risk Threshold." Since many carriers provide up to $100 of coverage for free, set your automation to trigger insurance only for orders where the subtotal is $100.01 or higher. This keeps your margins healthy while ensuring your high-value items are never left unprotected.

Next Step: Review your high-value SKUs today and set up your first Automation Rule to automate your peace of mind!