Effective April 3, 2023, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 609.1.2, to reflect updates in the standards for filing bulk insured claims.
The Postal Service is revising section 609.1.2, “Bulk Insured Claims,” to provide mailers who frequently file a large number of claims the option to use the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature available on the Business Customer Gateway (BCG) portal, if approved by Headquarters Revenue and Field Accounting (RAFA). This revision will include the eligibility requirements, access request procedures, and documentation requirements.
Although the Postal Service will not publish these revisions in the DMM until April 3, 2023, the standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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609 Filing Indemnity Claims for Loss or Damage
1.0 General Filing Instructions
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[Revise the text of 1.2 to read as follows:]
1.2 Bulk Insured Claims
1.2.1 General
Large-volume mailers or commercial mailers with Negotiated Service Agreements (NSAs) who file a large number of claims frequently may be allowed to use the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature available on the Business Customer Gateway (BCG) portal, if approved by Headquarters Revenue and Field Accounting (RAFA) under 1.2.3.
1.2.2 Eligibilty
Eligibility for mailers to submit claims using the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature is based on the following:
a. Revenue trends.
b. IMpb compliance history.
c. Prior claim history.
d. Customer-reimbursement policy.
e. Absence of third-party shipping insurance.
f. If applicable, NSA agreement status.
g. Any other criteria the Postal Service determines for eligibility to use the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature.
1.2.3 Requesting Bulk Indemnity Claims Access
To request access to the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature in BCG, mailers must contact their Business Service Network or sales account representative. The request will be reviewed by RAFA for eligibility and, if the mailer is eligible for access, approved in writing. Upon approval, the mailer will be required to attend an onboarding meeting and will be provided the following:
a. Information regarding access to the Bulk Indemnity Claims feature in BCG.
b. Bulk claim-submission requirements.
c. Upload process and instructions to comply with USPS review of supporting documentation to substantiate claims.
1.2.4 Documentation
The mailer must retain all supporting documentation related to claims (which, unless otherwise specified, includes all documentation otherwise required for a claim under 609, including proof of filing by the underlying customer) for one year from the submission date and must provide it to USPS upon request.
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The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the April 3, 2023, edition of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 1-12-23
