Protect your packages from porch piracy

You’ve done everything right. You selected a carrier. They delivered your package to a residential address, leaving it at a semi-secure location when the receiver wasn’t home. And now the shipment is missing.

As many as 36% of Americans have had unattended packages stolen, leaving both shippers and receivers calculating what to do. UPS Capital, a company that mitigates shipping risk for businesses and all shipping carriers, now has an insurance solution that helps.

The growth of ecommerce has consumers enjoying the convenience of shopping from home with access to vast product selections delivered right to their front door. But as residential deliveries increase, so has the rise in residential package theft–at a tremendous cost to businesses.

Merchants with UPS Capital’s residential package theft protection have the assurance of reimbursement for the value of the lost items, plus fast claims processing in the event of an incident—two of the primary benefits for online shippers. Claims are filed easily through an online platform, and in 4 days or less, most claims are paid.

Offering a better customer experience

When a shipment to a customer mysteriously goes missing or is stolen after delivery, guess who’s most often on the hook? The merchant. They receive the call from the customer and have the responsibility of making the customer whole.

Porch piracy has become a pervasive problem. The majority of packages are delivered without incident, but more than 1.7 million packages are stolen or go missing every day, adding up to $25 million in lost goods.¹ For consumers, home surveillance cameras can be a deterrent. They routinely capture package thieves making away with goods, but theft continues since local authorities don’t always investigate such incidents.

Precaution is well advised. Carriers like UPS have reduced the amount of residential theft with free options for consumers and businesses, such as UPS My Choice^®for home, My Choice^® for Businesses and UPS Access Point™, which enable tracking and package rerouting when recipients are not at home.

Still, businesses need to be prepared for incidents. Typically, once a carrier shows proof of delivery, their liability ends. Most shipping insurance coverage also ends there as well. The UPS Capital solution offers an alternative – a way forward to happier shipping.

Happy shipping – happy customers

Sixty-one percent of consumers believe online retailers are not doing enough to prevent package theft. When shipments are covered, customers are happier knowing the merchant will expedite a new shipment without worrying about the cost. Residential package theft protection enables businesses and their customers to experience the brighter side of shipping.

UPS Capital rolled out the new protection as automatic coverage on InsureShield^™ for UPS^® Packages policies, a transactional shipping insurance solution for small packages. According to UPS Capital Marketing Director Bill Petritz who spearheaded the initiative, it was a way to support the growing expansion of ecommerce, which mostly involves residential deliveries.

“We wanted to meet the evolving needs of the ecommerce shipper,” Petritz said. “Our customers don’t have to pay extra for it – it’s already included. We want them to know they can readily insure all of their ecommerce shipments with us and be confident their shipments are covered.”

The coverage is also available with all-risk cargo insurance policies, helping shippers recuperate expenses regardless of which carrier delivered the package. Successful claims result in reimbursement up to the full invoice value, plus freight.

A survey of 151 UPS Capital customers found that 73% currently ship to residential addresses. Of those shipping to residences, fifty-five percent have experienced porch piracy loss. Shippers said their customers would feel safer ordering if the merchants had porch piracy coverage.

Ecommerce expansion expected to continue

UPS Capital began exploring porch package theft protection before the pandemic, but the need for such a service is propelled by the change in online shopping behavior due in part to increased online holiday shopping and COVID-19 restrictions.

“Now that more professionals are working remotely and consumers are home-bound due to social isolation and distancing, companies are shipping more goods to residences,” noted UPS Capital Managing Director of Marketing, Business Information and Analytics Kiel Harkness. “That creates a greater need to protect ecommerce merchants.”

Research shows that people are shopping more online now than ever before. In 2019, Cyber Monday, the day consumers take to their smart phones to buy holiday gifts, businesses hauled in a record $9.4 billion² in online sales. Cyber Monday remains the biggest shopping day in the United States.

Add this pandemic buying trend, and we can expect a whopping online holiday season in 2020. According to a study of ecommerce trends, consumers are 30.6% more likely to make their purchases online in 2020 than they were in 2019.

These trends are no doubt good for business, but they inevitably bring opportunity and risk due to porch piracy. More than 26 million Americans (8%) have had a holiday package stolen from their front porch or doorstep.

UPS Capital’s coverage puts the merchant back in control with the confidence to reship and satisfy their customers. Get rid of the stress and find your competitive edge.

Want to know more? Call UPS Capital at 877-242-7930 for details on porch theft protection.

1. Jose Holguin-Veras, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems. New York Times. “90,000 Packages Disappear Daily in NYC. Is Help on the Way.”
2. Forbes. “Cyber Monday 2019 by the Numbers: a Record $9.4 Billion Haul” 12/3/2019.

Insurance is underwritten by an authorized insurance company and issued through licensed insurance producers affiliated with UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc. and other affiliated insurance agencies. UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc. and its licensed affiliates are wholly owned subsidiaries of UPS Capital Corporation. The insurance company, UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc. and its licensed affiliates reserve the right to change or cancel the insurance coverage at any time. The insurance is governed by the terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions set forth in the applicable insurance policy and no warranty, guarantee, or representation, either express or implied, is made as to the correctness or sufficiency of any information contained herein. Insurance coverage is not available in all jurisdictions.