Payable Claims

Listed below are the payable insurance claims for lost, damaged, or missing contents of insured mail, Registered Mail, or COD mail, within the amount covered by the fee paid, or within the indemnity limits for Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail service:

1. Actual value of lost articles at the time and place of mailing.
2. Cost of repairing a damaged article or replacing an irreparably damaged article, not exceeding the actual value of the article at the time of mailing.
3. Remittance due on a COD parcel not received by the mailer, subject to the limitations set by the standards for COD service.
4. Reasonable costs incurred for duplicating documents, including the following:
1. Copying services.
2. Notary fees.
3. Bonding fees for replacement of stock or bond certificates.
4. Reasonable attorney’s fees if required to replace the lost or damaged documents.
5. Other direct and necessary expenses or costs, as determined by the Postal Service.
6. The face value of negotiable documents (i.e., financial instruments payable to bearer) that cannot be reconstructed, up to the amount of insurance coverage bought or included.

Note: For Registered Mail service, the maximum amount of insurance coverage available is $50,000.

5. Extra costs of gift wrapping, if the gift-wrapped article was enclosed in another container when mailed.
6. The cost of an outer container, if the outer container was designed and constructed for the article sent.
7. The value of collectible items as substantiated by one of the following:
1. Sales receipt.
2. Paid Invoice or paid bill of sale.
3. Statement of value from a reputable dealer.

Note: A reputable dealer is defined as a licensed business owner who is qualified to estimate value or cost of repairs for the item.

8. The fair market value for collectible stamps of philatelic value or for coins of numismatic value, determined as follows:
1. The fair market value is determined by a recognized stamp or coin dealer or current coin and stamp collectors’ newsletters and trade papers.
2. The date of the determined fair market value must be the most recent available (but before the mailing date).
9. Federal, state, or city sales tax paid on articles lost or totally damaged.
10. Postage (not fee) paid for sending damaged articles for repair. (When sending damaged articles for repair, you must use the Postal Service, if available; if not available, you may include other reasonable transportation charges.)
11. Costs of film stock or blank tapes for photographic film, negatives, slides, transparencies, videotapes, laser disks, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prints, computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan prints, etc.
12. Cost of bees, crickets, or baby poultry or birds destroyed by physical damage to the package or delay for which the Postal Service is responsible.
13. For bulk insured articles, the lesser of (1) the actual value of the article at the time of mailing, or (2) the wholesale cost of the contents to the mailer.
14. For currency or bullion, a maximum of $15.

Exception: For items sent by Registered Mail service, the Postal Service provides payment for the included insurance coverage, based on declared value, up to the maximum amount of $50,000.

15. For a firearm mailed by a licensed firearms dealer (under DMM 601.8.0 and Publication 52), the dealer must submit a PS Form 1508, Statement by Shipper of Firearms, with the claim.

Note: If the insured mail, Registered Mail, or COD article is lost, the payment includes an additional amount for the postage (not fee) paid by the mailer.