Curt, did your high wall stocks make it back from the checkerer safely? How bout some pictures

I took a class once on insurance Risk Management where one of the profs took us on a detour that touched on USPS and their package insurance policies. As I recall the USPS is not fully self-insured and that shippers who pay for additional coverage for stated values are actually underwritten by third party companies who remain unnamed and silent. The Federal Postal Commission is supposed to oversee USPS business practices but the irony is they leave it up to the Postal Service so the entire plan is a bit iffy. 

You can file a lost or damaged claim for a package but the entire procedure for accepting and settling a claim is very obscure. They'll take the added money to bump valuation but do so without ever physically inspecting or verifying the property they accept and insure. They accept your word until a claim is filed then ask for proof that they may accept or deny without revealing their sources. To be able to deny or refuse valuation on property unseen is pretty much untenable. And if the Postal Inspectors have seen the contested property then why hasn't the customer received it ?  Not like state licensed underwriters where the claims process is closely regulated by insurance commissions and susceptible to the rulings of Tort Law. 

You pay your money for extra insurance coverage but you don't get a contract in hand specifying the actual loss terms. They may be available from a Postmaster or posted on a wall but I've never seen them. No the USPS package insurance program borders on a big conflict of interest where they take the money, arbitrarily refuse values and proof, deny investigation access, deny arbitration, deny verification of shipment or routing confirmation, etc etc. And finally refuse to divulge any statistics on their loss ratios, settlement totals or amount they bring in for added insurance rates.

At least when Hamsa lost your package in the desert you could take his camel

Rick

This from someone with 49 year’s transportation experience. 

We have 3 shipping options. Methods and systems about the same and they all use 3rd party contractors to move the packages. Percentage 3 party use varies with the route and the provider’s capabilities. 

Most effective defense is packaging. 

Boats

I'm currently waiting for a pistol grip Model 1893 Marlin stock being sent to me from Kansas.
Tracking showed it going to a Kansas City distribution center, then leaving and going to another distribution center, then back to KC again, and leaving the same day. Then just in transit for days. Supposed to arrive here Wed., but showed it arrived in Aurora, Co. on Thu. and then back to "in transit" since. Today it shows in town, so we'll see how it goes.
Who knows when or if it ever gets here, but I sure hope it makes it unharmed and not damaged or stolen.

85lc wrote on Oct 7^th, 2025 at 3:46pm:

   
Fedex here in Beaufort, S.C. -The local NEIGHBORS net has lost package pics of packages left at unknown places at least twice a week, always FEDEX. Always.

Well today's USPS results. 
One package due Wed. finally delivered today.
Two others from the same sender showed "out for delivery", but one got delivered, and the other still show "out for delivery", but was a no show. No telling where it is, or if it's rattling around in a USPS truck.