Ordering Packages Online? There’s Insurance for that!
I remember as a kid back in the late 70’s and 80’s, if we were lucky enough to order something from the catalog, it would seem like forever before that item was delivered.
And then if you weren’t home when the delivery driver showed up, they would have to take the package back and come back and try again the next day. It wasn’t a situation where they’d leave the order on your doorstep or porch.
After reading the report I just read, maybe we should go back to that approach. A report by Value Penguin from Lending Tree says that 41% of Americans have been a victim of theft by having a package stolen from their house after it was delivered.
That’s 41% of the 2,050 people who participated in the recent study. That number is up from 35% in 2022.
Delivery companies have started taking pictures of the delivery, so you’ll see where they left it. That helps you know when the package arrives, but they also want to prove that their driver did their part by dropping the package off.
So how do you combat “porch pirates”? Video doorbells are one popular method to do so. 22% of people said they installed some sort of camera system because of a package theft.
But another is insurance. Insurance? Yep, shipping insurance is a real thing. I’ve got to admit, I didn’t know this was something that someone could buy, but I guess there is a growing demand for this product.
As a matter of fact, 23% of survey respondents have used shipping insurance, and 86% of those say they were glad they did.
Here’s something else I learned from this article that I didn’t know before reading it, if someone steals your mail that is a federal offense. But if they take something delivered from one of the delivery companies, that is not considered the same type of crime.
Eleven states around the country have already passed legislation that makes stealing someone's package from their house a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Three other states are considering similar bills.
With the holidays coming, trying to take some precautions when having deliveries come to the house is probably a smart thing. Even if you add the insurance, you’ll still have to deal with the aggravation of having to file the claim and of course, you still won’t have the package you ordered.
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