But no matter which carrier you select, some mishaps are inevitable. Your package might get damaged, lost, or even stolen. In fact, the Penn Elcom Global Parcel Theft Report found that over a billion packages were lost or stolen in 2022 alone.
And if you, like most eCommerce business owners, are treating shipping insurance as an afterthought, it might be smart to reconsider.
Adding shipping insurance to your WooCommerce store can help you mitigate the risk and provide peace of mind to customers.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the benefits and process of WooCommerce shipping insurance and some top insurance providers you can consider.
WooCommerce's Approach to Shipping Insurance
WooCommerce doesn’t provide shipping insurance as a built-in feature. However, it lets you integrate third-party services and plugins to add shipping insurance to your store.
For example, you can either opt for carrier-provided insurance, which typically includes basic coverage, or you can partner with third-party shipping insurance providers like LateShipment.com for more comprehensive coverage and robust features.
Read more about: What is Shipping Insurance? A Complete Guide
Benefits of WooCommerce Shipping Insurance
Adding shipping insurance to your WooCommerce doesn’t just help you stay prepared for the unexpected, but also offers a host of other benefits:
1. Protection Against Damage and Loss
No matter how reliable your carrier is, accidents can happen. Your package might get crushed during transit, left soaking in the rain, or simply go missing. Shipping insurance helps you recover the cost of these damages, so you’re not bearing the losses alone.
For example, suppose you run a WooCommerce store that sells handcrafted ceramic products. A customer places a large order worth $1,000.
But unfortunately, the box arrives shattered. Without insurance, you’d either have to refund the customer out of pocket or risk losing them altogether. With shipping insurance, you can easily file a claim and get reimbursed, turning a loss into a recoverable expense.
2. Greater Customer Trust
People are cautious when buying stuff online, especially if they haven’t ordered from a store before. Offering shipping insurance adds a layer of professionalism, showing you’re serious about safeguarding their purchase.
In fact, some store owners even go a step further and offer shipping insurance as a free perk for orders above a certain value. This is a great way to build trust and boost your average order value.
3. Reduced Financial Risk
Every lost, damaged, or stolen package is a profit leak. These expenses can add over time, especially if you deal with high-ticket items. Shipping insurance safeguards your profit margins by eliminating financial risk.
It also lets you bypass carrier policy limitations. For example, many carriers only cover up to $100 by default. This means if your average order value exceeds this threshold, simply relying on basic coverage won’t cut it. Comprehensive shipping insurance bridges that gap.
4. Peace of Mind for You and Your Customers
With solid shipping insurance in place, you don’t need to worry about dealing with frustrated customers who received damaged goods or didn’t receive their orders at altogether. Instead, you can fall back on a streamlined process to file a claim and issue a refund or replacement.
Plus, when customers know they’re covered, they’ll be more confident in shopping with you again.
How to Set Up Shipping Insurance in WooCommerce
Depending on your business size, shipping volume, and even customer expectations, you can select from different options to set up WooCommerce shipping insurance. From plug-and-play installs to fully customized solutions and partnering with shipping insurance providers, WooCommerce lets you choose the best option that works for you. Here are some common methods you can consider:
1. Partnering with a Shipping Insurance Provider
One of the simplest ways to add shipping insurance to your WooCommerce store is by partnering with a reliable shipping insurance provider like LateShipment.com. It integrates seamlessly with leading eCommerce platforms, including WooCommerce, and provides coverage of up to $2,000 per package.
Besides an impressive 99% claims success rate, LateShipment.com also offers:
- Comprehensive Shipment Protection: Get full coverage for lost, damaged, and stolen items, including product value and shipping costs. LateShipment.com also extends global coverage and cross-carrier support, so you’re covered for incidents involving a majority of global shipping carriers.
- Intelligent Insurance Automation: Add insurance into your order fulfillment workflows automatically upon label creation. Customize insurance rules based on your unique needs, opt for full or custom value coverage, and apply insurance manually if needed.
- Automated Claims Management: LateShipment.com offers 100% automated claims management with a centralized dashboard for submitting claims, tracking statuses, and managing all insurance-related matters. The platform also supports your agents to initiate lost or damaged package claims right from inside your helpdesk.
- Risk Intelligence: With LateShipment.com, you can gain insights into incident trends and claim approval rates to enhance your risk management strategy. It also lets you track carrier performance and common factors that lead to claim denials.
2. Third-Party Plugin
Another way to add shipping insurance to your WooCommerce store is through a third-party plugin. These are no-code plugins that can help you manage everything from automatic coverage and customer opt-ins to claims management.
These tools let you embed insurance options directly into your checkout page, allowing you to either bundle it into the shipping cost or give customers the choice to add it themselves. This adds transparency and gives customers more control over their purchases.
Some plugins also offer automation features, such as:
- Automatically applying insurance to all orders above a certain value
- Branded claims portals
- Limitations based on shipping classes, zones, or membership plans
A shipping insurance plugin is suitable for small to mid-sized businesses that want a plug-and-play solution without hiring developers.
3. Custom Development
Building a custom shipping insurance solution can be a great option if ready-to-install plugins don’t meet all your needs or if you have very specific requirements. It gives you the flexibility to determine exactly how insurance works in your store, right from how it is calculated to how claims are processed.
For example, you might want to automatically apply insurance only on international shipments over $1,000 or let customers opt in via a custom toggle on the checkout page. Custom development eliminates all third-party limitations, giving you more control over the rules.
However, to build a reliable, secure, and scalable solution from scratch, you need serious technical expertise. This means if you’re not a developer yourself, you’ll have to hire one or partner with an agency that understands WooCommerce operations.
This can often be more expensive and time-consuming. But if you have more complex requirements, the cost and effort might be well worth it.
Common Shipping Insurance Providers for WooCommerce
There are several shipping insurance providers out there. But not all of them would integrate well with WooCommerce. To make your life easier, we’ve rounded up some of the most reliable and WooCommerce-compatible insurance providers you can consider:
1. LateShipment.com
LateShipment.com is an end-to-end post-purchase experience software platform that lets you manage everything – parcel audits and shipping refunds, delivery experience management, returns management, and shipping insurance – all in one place.
And yes, it’s totally compatible with WooCommerce.
It is designed to plug directly into your existing fulfillment workflow and offers coverage of up to $2,000 per shipment. It also supports a wide variety of global carriers, making it a solid choice for stores that ship internationally or use multiple logistics partners.
Plus, with a centralized dashboard and smart automation, your support team can file, track, and manage claims directly, right from your helpdesk.
2. Route
Route is another shipping insurance provider that integrates smoothly with WooCommerce and lets your customers add order protection at checkout with a single click. It covers loss, theft, and damage and provides a real-time tracking interface for customers.
Route also handles the entire claims process on behalf of your customer. So, if a package goes missing or arrives damaged, it takes care of the claim filing and resolution.
3. Shipsurance
Shipsurance offers affordable, flexible coverage for eCommerce businesses of all sizes, including WooCommerce merchants. It boasts up to 60% savings compared to carrier insurance rates and supports all-risk coverage. This means it protects you against virtually any type of loss or damage during transit.
Shipsurance also offers a streamlined claims process with online filings, ensuring claims are settled in less than a week.
The End Note
For most eCommerce owners, shipping insurance isn’t necessarily a top priority. But it plays a huge role in safeguarding your WooCommerce business against rainy days. From lost and damaged packages to customer disputes, every incident can impact your margins and brand reputation.
If you’re looking for a seamless way to get started, LateShipment.com offers one of the most robust and user-friendly insurance solutions out there. With automated claims management, intelligent coverage rules, and deep carrier insights, it lets you do a lot more than just insuring your shipments.
Book a demo today to get a sneak peek into the platform.
