Help Filing FedEx Claim - Proof of Value?

Johnny_Law

AK Member
Subscriber
FedEx packed, shipped, and destroyed a center channel speaker of mine. I sold it for $275 and paid for extra insurance up to $300. I assumed that buying $300 worth of insurance meant they'd pay $300 if they ruined it.

However, now they are disregarding that and requiring a "proof of value" as a part of the claim. Who has successfully submitted a claim to FedEx and what did you use for the "proof of value"?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Completed sales on Ebay, if there are at least a few and they are reasonably recent. I have had them admitted as evidence in court.
 
Since shipping is involved, some form of payment had to be made. How was that transaction made?
 
Thanks for the help guys. Lesson learned on my end about how shipping insurance works. Sounds like regardless of how much insurance you put on it, they'll only pay you what you can prove it's worth. So never ship anything that's one of a kind, or that you can't establish some kind of market value for! And don't pay for extra insurance for more peace of mind because it doesn't matter anyway.
 
What was it's insured value on the shipping agreement contract?
See where I'm taking this?
 
What was it's insured value on the shipping agreement contract?
See where I'm taking this?

The insured value on the shipping contract was $300 - and I don't see where you're taking it, because they are disregarding the insured value on the shipping contract, and demanding independent proof of value.
 
AAah, sorry. Yes I agree! I'll look for your thread. They surely can't disregard the insurance amount / value when handling claims, that would be bold faced fraud.
 
Where I'm going is to insist that they honor a legal contract.

In Australia, we have 'agreed value' in insurance. If they take your money for the premium and you need to claim, they will try all sorts of things to delay or get out of it, but ultimately, they have to pay the agreed value they insured for.

Ask me how I know that, AU$22,500 for a car and I got every cent- eventually.
 
The concept of insurance is you get paid for what you have lost. No more, no less. If I insure my Honda Civic for the value of a Ferrari, I only get paid Honda value when it's destroyed.

Of course, Geico won't let you insure a Honda at Ferrari levels, because they know what the insured property is when you apply, and they know what it's is worth. On the other hand, FedEx or the Postal Service know neither when you give them your package, so they rely on you to be honest.

EDIT: It's always up to the insured, not the insurer, to establish the value of the insured object. I have some old family jewelry that I insure. I had to get it appraised. I couldn't just declare a value. (I do not have any connection to the insurance industry, other than fighting it on behalf of claimants).
 
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The sale itself is the proof of value.

I use a copy of the actual Ebay sale page.
You can also use a copy of the PayPal transaction.

If you didn’t use Ebay or PayPal, how did you get paid? Any paper trail?

Up to $100, FedEx just pays and adds the shipping cost. Past $100, they require some proof. That is the “auto” system. If you call them, I think they will help you. I just called with a question and talked with 3-4 people about a couple things. Best service I have seen in a long time.

I had to create a statement and do a physical signature and then scan it. But I was sorting out a mess I created.

FedEx is excellent about shipping insurance.
USPS can be a royal bitch.
UPS is just a high risk on fragile stuff and I’ve heard that claims are difficult. I never use them.
 
I did a couple of times before. The EBay order details page print out is good enough. They will honor the sold price especially if you shipped Fedex through EBay,

FedEx packed, shipped, and destroyed a center channel speaker of mine. I sold it for $275 and paid for extra insurance up to $300. I assumed that buying $300 worth of insurance meant they'd pay $300 if they ruined it.

However, now they are disregarding that and requiring a "proof of value" as a part of the claim. Who has successfully submitted a claim to FedEx and what did you use for the "proof of value"?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Proof of value is the print-out of the sales transaction via Ebay--no more, no less, regardless of what you declared and insured for. It was worth $275 to you and to the buyer, so that's it--sorry folks. I have had international buyers want me to declare value at far less than the transaction amount to circumvent taxes/import fees into their country, and I decline--if "something" happens, the value would only be the declared value, and I would likely get stuck up in the mess.
 
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