Who is Discount Shipping Insurance and how can they save my company time and money?
Discount Shipping Insurance (DSI) is a shipping insurance provider. We offer shipping insurance at great discounts
compared to the carrier rates. We also offer a fully electronic online claims management system and expedite all claim payments.
We integrate with most shipping software solutions. If you do not use a software program for your shipping, we allow for your shipments to be entered
onto our online manifesting system.
What is shipping insurance?
Shipping insurance is a variation of an ocean marine policy. Basically, it is insurance that covers the value of the package(s) you are shipping.
If your package is lost, damaged, or stolen in transit, shipping insurance will ensure that your package is covered. It
does not matter whom you ship with, as DSI covers all the major carriers including: USPS (United States Postal Service), UPS, FedEx,
DHL, Canada Post, and most common freight carriers (land/ocean/air).
How do your rates work?
DSI’s rates are based on
$100 units. For example: If your parcel has
a declared value of $500, it contains five (5) $100 units.
Since the first $100 of insurance coverage is provided by most carriers
at no cost (Not USPS), DSI would be responsible for four (4) $100
units. If our rate for a particular shipment is $0.20 per $100 unit,
your premium for this specific parcel would be only $0.80.
How do I stop insuring with the carrier?
When you ship with a carrier, just stop recording 'declared or insured value'.
The carriers do not need to know that you have secured insurance for the package. To them it is a transparent process.
Is coverage provided worldwide?
Coverage is provided worldwide for our open coverage customers when shipments originate from the United States or Canada.
The following countries are excluded from coverage for our open certificate holders:
Abkhazia
Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola (including Cabinda)
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Benin
Bolivia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chechnia
Congo
Cuba
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
| Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Georgia
Ghana
Guinea-Bissau
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ivory Coast
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kyrgyzstan
Liberia
Libya
Mali
Mauritania
Mexico
Morocco
Moldova
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
OFAC Restricted Countries
Oman
Pakistan
| Papua/NewGuinea
Paraguay
Qatar
Russian Federation (includes Russia)
Rwanda
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Yemen
Zaire
Zimbabwe
|
Note: Shipments are not insurable by DSI when sent to a country the U.S. has a current embargo with or with any country that is listed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.
Request a quote for an open policy now!
The following countries outside of the United States ARE COVERED when insuring via our website on a package by package basis (non - DSI open certificate holders):
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Belgium
Bermuda
Canada
Chile
China
Costa Rica
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
El Salvador
England
| Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Guatemala
Holland
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Netherlands
| New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Samoa
Scotland
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Turkey
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Wales
|
Note: Our open coverage customers enjoy broader coverage to additional countries. Request a quote for an open policy now!
What do I do with the customs form?
You do not need to do anything different with your customs form. One of our exclusions reads "Loss, damage, shortage, or non-arrival of any parcel and its contents when it bears a descriptive label or packaging which describes, or alludes to, the nature of the contents." We DO NOT exclude shipments with the proper claims declarations.
What items can I insure?
DSI offers coverage for most commodities but we do have a few exclusions and conditions. If the item your are shipping is on our excluded list, please contact
us. We may be able to cover it.
Our standard excluded items are:
Accounts, bills, currency, evidence of debt, money, checks, money orders, COD payments, coins, securities, tickets, deeds, notes, gift cards, manuscripts, documents, bullion (gold, silver & other precious metals), gemstones (loose stones), furs, neon items, hazardous material (per UPS Hazardous Materials List), plasma televisions or monitors, LCD televisions or monitors, perishable cargo or similar property, eggs in the shell, ceramic slabs, marble slabs, granite slabs, slate slabs, stone slabs, grandfather clocks, grandmother clocks, stand-up clocks, automobiles, motorcycles, flowers, plants, seeds, guns, newsprint, tobacco, windows, plate glass, and float glass. * Collectible coins, antique guns (more than 100 years old), and stained glass windows are NOT excluded.
We commonly insure items such as: jewelry, watches, electronics, computer equipment, fine arts, collectibles, and more.
Whether you need a $5.00 baseball card covered or you want to insure a $10,000 antique statue, DSI will take care of it.
What shipping carriers can I use?
Coverage is available for almost all shipping
carriers. Some examples are: FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS,
Canada Post, Australian Post, Yellow, SAIA, and most common carriers.
Please contact us to find out if DSI covers the carrier that you use.
When I ship with a carrier, do I have to use a traceable/trackable class of service?
Domestic shipments must have a form of tracking. International shipments may or may not require tracking. Please consult your DSI coverage certificate for details.
When ordering coverage for a single shipment via our website, you must ship your parcel by one of the carriers
and classes listed here.
Can I mark the outside of my packages as insured if I am a policy holder?
Yes, you can mark the outside of your package as insured, however,
we advise against it. We provide you with free package inserts to place inside of your outbound shipments. These inserts explain to your consignee that you are insuring their package with a trusted company and if anything happened to it while in transit their claim would be handled promptly. Also, make sure you abide by the packaging
rules of the specific shipping carrier that you are using.
Are there any packaging requirements?
DSI provides special guidelines for shipping jewelry, string instruments, and fragile goods.
All shipped goods must abide by the shipping carriers' packaging rules and regulations, as well.
Do I need a policy to insure with DSI?
No, but as a policy holder you receive complete coverage and lower rates. If you occasionally ship small packages,
you can purchase instant coverage from our website here. View our instant policy rates here.
Is purchasing insurance online at DSI secure?
Definitely! The single package orders are encrypted with a 128 bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This ensures the highest level of security and privacy.
Is there a minimum requirement to sign up with DSI?
Not at all! We have programs available for every type of shipper,
small and large.
How do I pay for a DSI policy?
Invoices are issued at the beginning of each month. Premium payment is collected on the month following the insured
period (except flat rate). If you keep track of your packages by manifest or by a hand
tally report, you can calculate what you owe DSI by multiplying the
number of $100 units by our rate or simply send us the report and
we will calculate it for you. If you have a shipping manifest system
or custom reporting system, you can email, fax or mail us the shipping
file each month. If you do not have a shipping system, simply provide
us with a weekly spreadsheet or hand tallied total (DSI provided form) of your shipments.
We will invoice you the calculated amount. Payments can be made via check, credit card, or for auction
users, PayPal®.
What is a "Flat Rate" policy?
DSI offers Flat Rate policies as an alternative to our typical report based policies. Under a flat rate policy, all inbound and outbound shipments are insured for a fixed monthly rate without the need for reporting your shipments to us. Some of the benefits to the flat rate program include:
- No reporting
- Discounted flat rate
- Monthly fixed cost
- Cover ALL of your shipments; Domestic and International; Inbound and Outbound
- Claims processed even faster! We do not require you to submit a shipping report for a claim to be processed
Please contact us if you are interested in a flat rate or fill out our Request for Quote form.
How does DSI know what shipments I want to insure?
Policy holders are required to submit their shipment logs on either
a weekly or monthly basis. These logs can be a simple hand tallied report
or a computer generated shipping report. This report contains information
such as date of shipment, tracking number, and declared value.
If you cannot generate reports, please let us know as we have flat rate
programs available.
How do I report my shipments?
If you are not on a flat rate program, there are many ways you can report your shipments to DSI. Two of these methods are:
- Electronic Shipping Report
You can submit reports to DSI that are generated from a shipping manifest system, custom shipping software, or a simple spreadsheet.
Some examples of shipping software systems that generate DSI compatible reports are:
- DHL Webship®
- DHL EasyShip®
- Endicia Dazzle®
- FedEx ShipManager®
- Harveysoft CPS®
- iShip®
- Kewill Clippership®
- Pitney Bowes Ascent®
- Pitney Bowes Shipstream Manager®
- Pitney Bowes TMS®
- PostalMate®
- Resource Software®
- ShipRite®
- Stamps.com®
- UPS Worldship®
- USPS Click-N-Ship®
- V-Technologies StarShip®
- Windowbook Postal Package Partner®
- and many others
Our coverage can be included in both the shipping manifest and shipping software - notated as either 3rd party insurance or by using one of the allotted reference fields. This allows you to take advantage of our insurance system with very little effort in your everyday business routines. Your premium can be calculated by using the insurance report information.
- Online Manifest
We offer a special password protected website for our policy holders know as the DSI Management Center. DSI is the first to offer
an online manifesting system. Through this website, all your shipments can be reported and tallied via a very easy-to-use interface.
Contact us for more details.
All reports can be sent to us via email, fax, or regular mail. Most reports are required on a monthly basis.
What is the DSI eReport software?
We created a suite of software to make the reporting process easier. It can now take as little as NO TIME to report your insured shipments to DSI.
Click here for more details.
I need technical support regarding the eReport software. Where do I go?
Support is provided via Internet discussion forum. Please visit http://forum.dsiinsurance.com.
How do I file a claim and receive payment?
Claims can be filed online here.
The correct forms can be found here.
The forms explain everything that is necessary to file and process your claims.
You would start by filing a tracer with the carrier to see if they can locate the shipment and concurrently start the
claim process with DSI by submitting a claim form. Once all the required paperwork is completed and submitted to DSI, we will process your claim in an
expedited fashion. The entire process can be managed online. Please note: Damaged claims may be inspected by DSI.
Must my shipments originate from the USA?
No! DSI offers coverage for shipments:
- USA to USA
- USA to International
- International to USA
- International to International
Contact us for more details.
Do you cover household goods?
Yes. Household goods can be covered, but with a reduced limit compared with other covered commodities. Our rates and deductibles vary.
How do I request coverage for a specific shipment?
If you currently have a DSI Cargo Policy, or are insuring shipments for your customers, you can login to your account at the DSI Management Center website and report your shipment(s) there. We will also provide you with a hard copy form that you can fax us. Once your trip policy is ready, often within the hour (during regular business hours), we will fax or email it to you. We will contact you with any questions of for further clarification if necessary.
If you do not have a DSI Cargo Policy and need to cover a specific shipment valued at $1,500.00 or less, you can purchase an instant trip policy here.
If you do not have a DSI Cargo Policy and need to cover a specific shipment valued at $1,500.00 or more, fill out our Request for Cargo Insurance Coverage form located here. A DSI representative will contact you within 24 hours.
I am an auction
seller. How can I explain '3rd Party Insurance' to my buyers?
This is a very common question we are asked by auction sellers.
The first step is to communicate to your buyers via your auction listing.
We provide
logo images to
add to your online auctions as well as package inserts
(order more here) to place in your outgoing parcels. We also suggest adding the following
verbiage to your 'shipping' or 'policies' section of your listing:
Professional 3rd Party Shipping Insurance provided by DSI:
Discount Shipping Insurance.
We also suggest including the above verbiage on your invoice
and/or packing slips. This way your buyers will feel comfortable with
the fact that their purchase is insured while it is in transit.
I am an auction
seller. Can my buyers contact you?
Definitely! If your buyers want to verify coverage, they
can feel free to call us.
I am an auction
buyer. I just bought an item from an auction service. Can I insure
the shipment?
You can insure the shipment if the declared value is under $1,000.00
(policy holders have higher limits). All you need to do is purchase
a one time policy from our
website here.
I do not have an appraisal for my auction sale. What value do I insure my shipment for?
Appraisals are not needed to show the value of your auction sale!
Your "sales receipt" is you End of Auction (EOA) page/receipt. This shows the sales price of the item(s).
Have more questions?
Contact us here. 
