Pirate Ship Shipping Insurance (InsureShield)

At a glance

Sold by

Pirate Ship, as an optional add-on when you buy a label ('Insurance' checkbox and 'Declared Package Value').

Claims handled by

UPSCIA / UPS Capital (InsureShield): claims are filed in the InsureShield Claims Portal.

Risk carried by

Insurer not named in the wording

Max per parcel

$10,000 per UPS shipment; $5,000 per USPS shipment ($2,500 international per Pirate Ship help; $400 for First Class Package International and Simple Export Rate 4 lb and under)

Published price

$1.00 per $100 of declared value (domestic and international), charged in $100 increments

Pays out on

Declared value. New goods: invoice cost plus freight. Used or refurbished goods: actual cash value plus freight. Payment is the lesser of verified value or the declared amount, and underinsuring triggers a proportional (co-insurance) cut. Pirate Ship's help says the label cost is reimbursed on top.

Relationship to carrier

Not clear from the wording

Wording available

Partner terms only

The terms say the policies are underwritten by an unnamed 'authorized insurance company' and issued to the Channel Partner or UPS Capital Corporation. You are neither an insured nor an additional insured; claim money may reach you as a loss payee. You can ask Pirate Ship or UPSCIA for a copy of the policies.

Does Pirate Ship cover porch theft?

Pirate Ship's help pages say InsureShield covers porch theft and give a 90-day filing window. The InsureShield terms say protection ends on delivery and do not mention porch theft, and the policy itself is not public.

Jewelry, watches, laptops, and phones

Jewelry items are not excluded, but loose precious stones are. The terms have no electronics-specific rule and no signature requirement. Normal carrier/service limits apply, and the policies may set different terms by commodity type.

What it excludes

• Cash, currency, bullion, stamps, securities and other negotiables; loose precious stones (collectible coins with no currency value and jewelry are not excluded)

  “bullion; stamps; cash; currency; money; coins (collectible coins with no currency value are not excluded from coverage); deeds; notes; securities; bills; evidence of debt; and precious stones”

• Contraband, fireworks and explosives, live plants and animals, human remains

  “Contraband; illicit goods; accounts receivable; fish meal; nuclear fuel and substances; fireworks, explosive agents, fire-starting devices or aids; live plants, animals and insects, human tissues or organs, human remains, corpses or body parts;”

• Delay, temperature change and inherent vice

  “delay, whether or not caused by an insured peril;”

• Cosmetic or electrical/mechanical damage to used goods

  “rust, oxidation, discoloration, scratching, marring, denting, chipping and/or electrical or mechanical derangement to used goods, whether or not caused by a covered peril;”

• Poor packing by you, the shipper or consignee

  “improper, inadequate or otherwise unsuitable packing or preparation of the cargo, provided this exclusion will not apply to the extent that: (i) such packing or preparation was carried out by a third party”

• Fraudulent redirection, imposter orders and label changes

  “retrieved at a point other than the original consigned delivery point pursuant to any instruction or representation to the transport carrier by a fraudster or imposter;”

• Consequential losses (loss of market, depreciation)

  “The Program provides no protection for delay in transit or for consequential or indirect losses.”

• Motorized vehicles: total loss only (FPA)

  “motorized vehicles are only eligible for "Free of Particular Average" or "FPA" coverage, meaning that only the risk of total loss is covered in most instances”

• Senders outside the US and non-US-origin shipments; listed destination countries

  “Shipments must originate from the United States of America and you (the End User) must be located within the United States of America.”

• Business shippers: contents unrelated to the business

  “With respect to any End User that elects to participate in the Program for a business purpose, shipments with contents unrelated to such business purpose will not be protected under any Policy regardless of commodity type.”

How and when claims pay

Pirate Ship says buying InsureShield on Pirate Ship cancels the carrier's built-in $100 USPS/UPS coverage on that shipment, so you must declare the full value. You must also follow the carrier's shipping terms.

Deadlines

• Report any loss or damage immediately, in writing.

  “you must immediately report to Channel Partner or UPSCIA, as applicable, in writing any loss or damage to a protected shipment of cargo.”

• Concealed loss or damage: within 30 days of delivery under the terms (Pirate Ship's claims help says 90 days).

  “in the event of a claim for concealed loss or damage, within thirty (30) days from the date of delivery;”

• All other claims: within 9 months of delivery. For non-delivery, the clock starts on the scheduled (or reasonably expected) delivery date, whichever is earlier.

  “for all other claims, within nine (9) months from the date of delivery.”

Payment time

Not stated in the terms. Pirate Ship's claims help says InsureShield 'typically pays many claims within a matter of days' once all documents are in.

What we couldn't confirm

• The underlying cargo policies and the commodity schedule are not public (the terms say the policies control).
• The insurer is not named.
• The terms were captured as a labelled web-text extraction, not the original HTML.
• The linked article on rare items and collectibles is not in our library.
• The filing deadline for concealed damage conflicts. The InsureShield terms say 30 days from delivery. Pirate Ship's claims help says 90 days and claims to follow those terms. The terms say the underlying policy controls, and it is not public, so the safer reading is 30 days.
• Porch theft is described as covered only in Pirate Ship's help and marketing pages, which also say InsureShield 'protects you from anything that can happen'. The terms list many exclusions and end protection at delivery.
• The terms say 'Ground shipments are eligible for protection under the Program'. Our review notes it is unclear whether this rules out air parcel services, which Pirate Ship still sells.
• Used goods: a 2020 court opinion about a 2018 policy (Murray v. UPS Capital Ins. Agency, Cal. Ct. App. G058353) describes an older UPS Capital house policy that insured used goods for total loss only (FPA). The current terms indicate that the current terms value used goods at actual cash value plus freight, with a cosmetic/derangement exclusion, not FPA. The 2018 policy is not shown to be this program.
• The terms say the policies may set different terms, limits, deductibles and fees by commodity type. The commodity schedule has not been seen.
• No deductible amount is published; the terms only say payment is 'less any applicable deductible'.
• The excluded-countries list 'is subject to change depending on government restrictions, geopolitical events, embargos, etc.'
• Disputes go to individual AAA arbitration under Georgia law, with a class-action waiver; small-claims court remains available.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Pirate Ship InsureShield terms: primary webpage text capture partner_terms · September 17, 2026
2. Pirate Ship insurance overview: primary webpage text capture marketing · page dated September 14, 2026; retrieved 2026-10-31
3. Pirate Ship InsureShield claims: primary webpage text capture help · retrieved 2026-10-31

Insurrl doesn't sell insurance and isn't paid by any insurer. This page summarizes published wording; your own certificate, schedule, or account terms can change the result.