Shipping Insurance

Insure your shipments programmatically via the Shippo API to avoid losing money on lost or stolen packages. You can purchase insurance via our built-in insurance service provided by Shipsurance, or directly from the carriers.

About Insurance

Shippo (via Shipsurance) currently offers coverage for shipments sent with APC Postal, Asendia, Canada Post, DHL eCommerce, DHL Express, FedEx, LaserShip, Newgistics, RR Donnelley, UPS, USPS, DeutschePost, DHL Germany, DHL Germany C2C, DPD Germany, GLS Deutschland, and Hermes Germany B2C.

Alternatively you can purchase insurance directly from FedEx, UPS, and Ontrac from the Shipment extras attribute. However, we recommend using Shippo’s built-in insurance – it offers a more comprehensive coverage at a lower price.

Insurance for Single Package Shipments

For shipments consisting of only one package, you can specify insurance directly from the Shipment object.

Make sure to specify the amount and currency, as well as content within the insurance attribute inside ShipmentExtras attribute. The provider will default to Shippo’s insurance provider.

PHP

                curl https://api.goshippo.com/shipments/ \
    -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_Token>" \
    -d address_from="d799c2679e644279b59fe661ac8fa488" \
    -d address_to="42236bcf36214f62bcc6d7f12f02a849" \
    -d parcels=["7df2ecf8b4224763ab7c71fae7ec8274"] \
    -d extra='{"insurance": {"amount": "200", "currency": "USD", "content": "t-shirts" }}' \
    -d async=false
              
                require 'shippo'

Shippo::API.token = '<API_Token>'

address_from = {
    :name => 'Shawn Ippotle',
    :street1 => '215 Clayton St.',
    :city => 'San Francisco',
    :state => 'CA',
    :zip => '94117',
    :country => 'US',
    :phone => '+1 555 341 9393',
    :email => 'shippotle@goshippo.com' 
}

address_to = {
    :name => 'Mr Hippo',
    :street1 => 'Broadway 1',
    :city => 'New York',
    :state => 'NY',
    :zip => '10007',
    :country => 'US',
    :phone => '+1 555 341 9393',
    :email => 'mrhippo@goshippo.com'
}

parcel = {
    :length => 5,
    :width => 1,
    :height => 5.555,
    :distance_unit => :in,
    :weight => 2,
    :mass_unit => :lb
}

insurance = {
    :amount => "200",
    :currency => "USD",
    :content => "t-shirts"
}

shipment = Shippo::Shipment.create(
    :address_from => address_from,
    :address_to => address_to,
    :parcels => parcel,
    :async => false,
    :extra => { :insurance => insurance }
)
              
                import shippo

shippo.api_key = "<API_Token>"

address_from = {
    "name": "Shawn Ippotle",
    "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": "94117",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "shippotle@goshippo.com"
}

address_to = {
    "name": "Mr Hippo",
    "street1": "Broadway 1",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "zip": "10007",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "mrhippo@goshippo.com"
}

parcel = {
    "length": "5",
    "width": "5",
    "height": "5",
    "distance_unit": "in",
    "weight": "2",
    "mass_unit": "lb"
}

insurance = {
    "amount": "200",
    "currency": "USD",
    "content": "t-shirts"
}

shipment = shippo.Shipment.create(
    address_from = address_from,
    address_to = address_to,
    parcels = [parcel],
    async = False,
    extra = { "insurance": insurance }
)
              
                require_once('lib/Shippo.php');
Shippo::setApiKey("<API_Token>");

$fromAddress = array(
    'name' => 'Shawn Ippotle',
    'street1' => '215 Clayton St.',
    'city' => 'San Francisco',
    'state' => 'CA',
    'zip' => '94117',
    'country' => 'US',
    'phone' => '+1 555 341 9393',
    'email' => 'shippotle@goshippo.com'
);

$toAddress = array(
    'name' => 'Mr Hippo"',
    'street1' => 'Broadway 1',
    'city' => 'New York',
    'state' => 'NY',
    'zip' => '10007',
    'country' => 'US',
    'phone' => '+1 555 341 9393',
    'email' => 'mrhippo@goshippo.com'
);

$parcel = array(
    'length'=> '5',
    'width'=> '5',
    'height'=> '5',
    'distance_unit'=> 'in',
    'weight'=> '2',
    'mass_unit'=> 'lb',
);

$insurance = array(
    'amount' => '200',
    'currency' => 'USD',
    'content' => 't-shirts'
);

$shipment = Shippo_Shipment::create(
    array(
        "address_from" => $fromAddress,
        "address_to" => $toAddress,
        "parcels" => array($parcel),
        "async" => false,
        "extra" => array("insurance" => $insurance)
    )
);
              
                var shippo = require('shippo')('<API_Token>');

var addressFrom  = {
    "name": "Shawn Ippotle",
    "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": "94117",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "shippotle@goshippo.com"
};

var addressTo = {
    "name": "Mr Hippo",
    "street1": "Broadway 1",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "zip": "10007",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "mrhippo@goshippo.com"
};

var parcel = {
    "length": "5",
    "width": "5",
    "height": "5",
    "distance_unit": "in",
    "weight": "2",
    "mass_unit": "lb"
};

var insurance = {
    "amount": "200",
    "currency": "USD",
    "content": "t-shirts"
};

shippo.shipment.create({
    "address_from": addressFrom,
    "address_to": addressTo,
    "parcels": [parcel],
    "async": true,
    "extra": { "insurance": insurance }
}, function(err, shipment) {
   // asynchronously called
});
              
                Shippo.setApiKey('<API_Token>');

// To Address
HashMap<String, Object> addressToMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
addressToMap.put("name", "Mr Hippo");
addressToMap.put("company", "Shippo");
addressToMap.put("street1", "215 Clayton St.");
addressToMap.put("city", "San Francisco");
addressToMap.put("state", "CA");
addressToMap.put("zip", "94117");
addressToMap.put("country", "US");
addressToMap.put("phone", "+1 555 341 9393");
addressToMap.put("email", "mrhippo@goshipppo.com");

// From Address
HashMap<String, Object> addressFromMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
addressFromMap.put("name", "Ms Hippo");
addressFromMap.put("company", "San Diego Zoo");
addressFromMap.put("street1", "2920 Zoo Drive");
addressFromMap.put("city", "San Diego");
addressFromMap.put("state", "CA");
addressFromMap.put("zip", "92101");
addressFromMap.put("country", "US");
addressFromMap.put("email", "mshippo@goshipppo.com");
addressFromMap.put("phone", "+1 619 231 1515");
addressFromMap.put("metadata", "Customer ID 123456");

// Parcel
HashMap<String, Object> parcelMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
parcelMap.put("length", "5");
parcelMap.put("width", "5");
parcelMap.put("height", "5");
parcelMap.put("distance_unit", "in");
parcelMap.put("weight", "2");
parcelMap.put("mass_unit", "lb");

// Insurance
HashMap<String, Object> insuranceMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
insuranceMap.put("amount", "200");
insuranceMap.put("currency", "USD");
insuranceMap.put("content", "t_shirts");

// Extra
HashMap<String, Object> extraMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
extraMap.put("insurance", insuranceMap);

// Shipment
HashMap<String, Object> shipmentMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
shipmentMap.put("address_to", addressToMap);
shipmentMap.put("address_from", addressFromMap);
shipmentMap.put("parcels", parcelMap);
shipmentMap.put("extra", extraMap);
shipmentMap.put("async", false);

Shipment shipment = Shipment.create(shipmentMap);
              
                APIResource resource = new APIResource ('<API_Token>');

// to address
Hashtable toAddressTable = new Hashtable();
toAddressTable.Add("name", "Mr Hippo");
toAddressTable.Add("company", "Shippo");
toAddressTable.Add("street1", "215 Clayton St.");
toAddressTable.Add("city", "San Francisco");
toAddressTable.Add("state", "CA");
toAddressTable.Add("zip", "94117");
toAddressTable.Add("country", "US");
toAddressTable.Add("phone", "+1 555 341 9393");
toAddressTable.Add("email", "mrhippo@goshipppo.com");

// from address
Hashtable fromAddressTable = new Hashtable();
fromAddressTable.Add("name", "Ms Hippo");
fromAddressTable.Add("company", "San Diego Zoo");
fromAddressTable.Add("street1", "2920 Zoo Drive");
fromAddressTable.Add("city", "San Diego");
fromAddressTable.Add("state", "CA");
fromAddressTable.Add("zip", "92101");
fromAddressTable.Add("country", "US");
fromAddressTable.Add("email", "mshippo@goshipppo.com");
fromAddressTable.Add("phone", "+1 619 231 1515");
fromAddressTable.Add("metadata", "Customer ID 123456");

// parcel
Hashtable parcelTable = new Hashtable();
parcelTable.Add("length", "5");
parcelTable.Add("width", "5");
parcelTable.Add("height", "5");
parcelTable.Add("distance_unit", "in");
parcelTable.Add("weight", "2");
parcelTable.Add("mass_unit", "lb");

//
Hashtable insuranceTable = new Hashtable();
insuranceTable.Add("amount", "200");
insuranceTable.Add("currency", "USD");
insuranceTable.Add("content", "t-shirts");

resource.CreateShipment(new Hashtable() {
    { "address_from", fromAddressTable},
    { "address_to", toAddressTable},
    { "parcels", parcelTable},
    { "extra", new Hashtable() {
            { "insurance", insuranceTable }
        }
    },
    { "async", false}});
              

Each valid Shipment object request will trigger a number of Rate objects that contain the Shipment insurance information as well.

{
    "status": "SUCCESS",
    "object_created": "2013-12-01T06:24:20.121Z",
    "object_updated": "2013-12-01T06:24:20.121Z",
    "object_id": "5e40ead7cffe4cc1ad45108696162e42",
    "object_owner": "shippotle@goshippo.com",
    "address_from": {
        "object_id": "0943ae4e373e4120a99c337e496dcce8",
        "validation_results": {},
        "is_complete": true,
        "company": "",
        "street_no": "",
        "name": "Mr. Hippo",
        "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
        "street2": "",
        "city": "San Francisco",
        "state": "CA",
        "zip": "94117",
        "country": "US",
        "phone": "+15553419393",
        "email": "support@goshippo.com",
        "is_residential": null
    },
    "address_to": {
        "object_id": "4c7185d353764d0985a6a7825aed8ffb",
        "validation_results": {},
        "is_complete": true,
        "name":"Mrs. Hippo",
        "street1":"965 Mission St.",
        "city":"San Francisco",
        "state":"CA",
        "zip":"94105",
        "country":"US",
        "phone":"+1 555 341 9393",
        "email":"support@goshippo.com",
        "is_residential": false
    },
    "address_return": {
        "object_id": "0943ae4e373e4120a99c337e496dcce8",
        "validation_results": {},
        "is_complete": true,
        "company": "",
        "street_no": "",
        "name": "Mr. Hippo",
        "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
        "street2": "",
        "city": "San Francisco",
        "state": "CA",
        "zip": "94117",
        "country": "US",
        "phone": "+15553419393",
        "email": "support@goshippo.com",
        "is_residential": null
    },
    "parcels": [{
        "object_id": "ec952343dd4843c39b42aca620471fd5",
        "object_created": "2013-12-01T06:24:21.121Z",
        "object_updated": "2013-12-01T06:24:21.121Z",
        "object_owner": "shippotle@goshippo.com",
        "template": null,
        "length":"5",
        "width":"5",
        "height":"5",
        "distance_unit":"in",
        "weight":"2",
        "mass_unit":"lb",
        "value_amount": null,
        "value_currency": null,
        "metadata": "",
        "line_items": [],
        "test": true
    }],
    "shipment_date": "2013-12-03T12:00:00.000Z",
    "extra": {
        "insurance": {
            "amount": "200",
            "currency": "USD",
            "content": "t-shirts"
        },
        "reference_1": "",
        "reference_2": ""
    },
    "customs_declaration": "",
    "rates": [
        {
            "object_created": "2013-12-01T06:24:21.121Z",
            "object_id": "545ab0a1a6ea4c9f9adb2512a57d6d8b",
            "object_owner": "shippotle@goshippo.com",
            "shipment": "5e40ead7cffe4cc1ad45108696162e42",
            "attributes": [],
            "amount": "5.50",
            "currency": "USD",
            "amount_local": "5.50",
            "currency_local": "USD",
            "provider": "USPS",
            "provider_image_75": "https://cdn2.goshippo.com/providers/75/USPS.png",
            "provider_image_200": "https://cdn2.goshippo.com/providers/200/USPS.png",
            "servicelevel": {
                "name": "Priority Mail",
                "token": "usps_priority",
                "terms": ""
            },
            "days": 2,
            "arrives_by": null,
            "duration_terms": "Delivery in 1 to 3 business days.",
            "messages": [],
            "carrier_account": "078870331023437cb917f5187429b093",
            "test": false
        },
        ...
    ],
    "carrier_accounts": [],
    "metadata": "Customer ID 123456",
    "messages": [],
    "test": false
}

You can then create the shipping label by POSTing to the Transaction endpoint as usual:

PHP

                curl https://api.goshippo.com/transactions \
    -H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_Token>" \
    -d rate="cf6fea899f1848b494d9568e8266e076"
    -d label_file_type="PDF"
    -d async=false
              
                require 'shippo'

Shippo::API.token = '<API_Token>'

address_from = {
    :name => 'Shawn Ippotle',
    :street1 => '215 Clayton St.',
    :city => 'San Francisco',
    :state => 'CA',
    :zip => '94117',
    :country => 'US',
    :phone => '+1 555 341 9393',
    :email => 'shippotle@goshippo.com' 
}

address_to = {
    :name => 'Mr Hippo',
    :street1 => 'Broadway 1',
    :city => 'New York',
    :state => 'NY',
    :zip => '10007',
    :country => 'US',
    :phone => '+1 555 341 9393',
    :email => 'mrhippo@goshippo.com'
}

parcel = {
    :length => 5,
    :width => 1,
    :height => 5.555,
    :distance_unit => :in,
    :weight => 2,
    :mass_unit => :lb
}

insurance = {
    :amount => "200",
    :currency => "USD",
    :content => "t-shirts"
}

shipment = Shippo::Shipment.create(
    :address_from => address_from,
    :address_to => address_to,
    :parcels => parcel,
    :async => false,
    :extra => { :insurance => insurance }
)
              
                import shippo

shippo.api_key = "<API_Token>"

address_from = {
    "name": "Shawn Ippotle",
    "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": "94117",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "shippotle@goshippo.com"
}

address_to = {
    "name": "Mr Hippo",
    "street1": "Broadway 1",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "zip": "10007",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "mrhippo@goshippo.com"
}

parcel = {
    "length": "5",
    "width": "5",
    "height": "5",
    "distance_unit": "in",
    "weight": "2",
    "mass_unit": "lb"
}

insurance = {
    "amount": "200",
    "currency": "USD",
    "content": "t-shirts"
}

shipment = shippo.Shipment.create(
    address_from = address_from,
    address_to = address_to,
    parcels = [parcel],
    async = False,
    extra = { "insurance": insurance }
)
              
                require_once('lib/Shippo.php');
Shippo::setApiKey("<API_Token>");

$fromAddress = array(
    'name' => 'Shawn Ippotle',
    'street1' => '215 Clayton St.',
    'city' => 'San Francisco',
    'state' => 'CA',
    'zip' => '94117',
    'country' => 'US',
    'phone' => '+1 555 341 9393',
    'email' => 'shippotle@goshippo.com'
);

$toAddress = array(
    'name' => 'Mr Hippo"',
    'street1' => 'Broadway 1',
    'city' => 'New York',
    'state' => 'NY',
    'zip' => '10007',
    'country' => 'US',
    'phone' => '+1 555 341 9393',
    'email' => 'mrhippo@goshippo.com'
);

$parcel = array(
    'length'=> '5',
    'width'=> '5',
    'height'=> '5',
    'distance_unit'=> 'in',
    'weight'=> '2',
    'mass_unit'=> 'lb',
);

$insurance = array(
    'amount' => '200',
    'currency' => 'USD',
    'content' => 't-shirts'
);

$shipment = Shippo_Shipment::create(
    array(
        "address_from" => $fromAddress,
        "address_to" => $toAddress,
        "parcels" => array($parcel),
        "async" => false,
        "extra" => array("insurance" => $insurance)
    )
);
              
                var shippo = require('shippo')('<API_Token>');

var addressFrom  = {
    "name": "Shawn Ippotle",
    "street1": "215 Clayton St.",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": "94117",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "shippotle@goshippo.com"
};

var addressTo = {
    "name": "Mr Hippo",
    "street1": "Broadway 1",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "zip": "10007",
    "country": "US",
    "phone": "+1 555 341 9393",
    "email": "mrhippo@goshippo.com"
};

var parcel = {
    "length": "5",
    "width": "5",
    "height": "5",
    "distance_unit": "in",
    "weight": "2",
    "mass_unit": "lb"
};

var insurance = {
    "amount": "200",
    "currency": "USD",
    "content": "t-shirts"
};

shippo.shipment.create({
    "address_from": addressFrom,
    "address_to": addressTo,
    "parcels": [parcel],
    "async": true,
    "extra": { "insurance": insurance }
}, function(err, shipment) {
   // asynchronously called
});
              
                Shippo.setApiKey('<API_Token>');

// To Address
HashMap<String, Object> addressToMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
addressToMap.put("name", "Mr Hippo");
addressToMap.put("company", "Shippo");
addressToMap.put("street1", "215 Clayton St.");
addressToMap.put("city", "San Francisco");
addressToMap.put("state", "CA");
addressToMap.put("zip", "94117");
addressToMap.put("country", "US");
addressToMap.put("phone", "+1 555 341 9393");
addressToMap.put("email", "mrhippo@goshipppo.com");

// From Address
HashMap<String, Object> addressFromMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
addressFromMap.put("name", "Ms Hippo");
addressFromMap.put("company", "San Diego Zoo");
addressFromMap.put("street1", "2920 Zoo Drive");
addressFromMap.put("city", "San Diego");
addressFromMap.put("state", "CA");
addressFromMap.put("zip", "92101");
addressFromMap.put("country", "US");
addressFromMap.put("email", "mshippo@goshipppo.com");
addressFromMap.put("phone", "+1 619 231 1515");
addressFromMap.put("metadata", "Customer ID 123456");

// Parcel
HashMap<String, Object> parcelMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
parcelMap.put("length", "5");
parcelMap.put("width", "5");
parcelMap.put("height", "5");
parcelMap.put("distance_unit", "in");
parcelMap.put("weight", "2");
parcelMap.put("mass_unit", "lb");

// Insurance
HashMap<String, Object> insuranceMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
insuranceMap.put("amount", "200");
insuranceMap.put("currency", "USD");
insuranceMap.put("content", "t_shirts");

// Extra
HashMap<String, Object> extraMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
extraMap.put("insurance", insuranceMap);

// Shipment
HashMap<String, Object> shipmentMap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
shipmentMap.put("address_to", addressToMap);
shipmentMap.put("address_from", addressFromMap);
shipmentMap.put("parcels", parcelMap);
shipmentMap.put("extra", extraMap);
shipmentMap.put("async", false);

Shipment shipment = Shipment.create(shipmentMap);
              
                APIResource resource = new APIResource ('<API_Token>');

// to address
Hashtable toAddressTable = new Hashtable();
toAddressTable.Add("name", "Mr Hippo");
toAddressTable.Add("company", "Shippo");
toAddressTable.Add("street1", "215 Clayton St.");
toAddressTable.Add("city", "San Francisco");
toAddressTable.Add("state", "CA");
toAddressTable.Add("zip", "94117");
toAddressTable.Add("country", "US");
toAddressTable.Add("phone", "+1 555 341 9393");
toAddressTable.Add("email", "mrhippo@goshipppo.com");

// from address
Hashtable fromAddressTable = new Hashtable();
fromAddressTable.Add("name", "Ms Hippo");
fromAddressTable.Add("company", "San Diego Zoo");
fromAddressTable.Add("street1", "2920 Zoo Drive");
fromAddressTable.Add("city", "San Diego");
fromAddressTable.Add("state", "CA");
fromAddressTable.Add("zip", "92101");
fromAddressTable.Add("country", "US");
fromAddressTable.Add("email", "mshippo@goshipppo.com");
fromAddressTable.Add("phone", "+1 619 231 1515");
fromAddressTable.Add("metadata", "Customer ID 123456");

// parcel
Hashtable parcelTable = new Hashtable();
parcelTable.Add("length", "5");
parcelTable.Add("width", "5");
parcelTable.Add("height", "5");
parcelTable.Add("distance_unit", "in");
parcelTable.Add("weight", "2");
parcelTable.Add("mass_unit", "lb");

//
Hashtable insuranceTable = new Hashtable();
insuranceTable.Add("amount", "200");
insuranceTable.Add("currency", "USD");
insuranceTable.Add("content", "t-shirts");

resource.CreateShipment(new Hashtable() {
    { "address_from", fromAddressTable},
    { "address_to", toAddressTable},
    { "parcels", parcelTable},
    { "extra", new Hashtable() {
            { "insurance", insuranceTable }
        }
    },
    { "async", false}});
              

Insurance for Multi-piece Shipments

For multi-piece shipments you can choose to purchase specific insurance amounts for each package. This can be done through the extras attribute when creating your Parcel object within the Shipment request.

Parcel-level coverage is only available for purchase through FedEx and UPS. Shipsurance insurance can only be applied on a Shipment-level for single package shipments.

Creating a label with one API call is like one big, nested POST request to the Transaction endpoint. The structure of the content can be summarized as follows:

curl https://api.goshippo.com/shipment/  \
-H "Authorization: ShippoToken <API_Token>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"  \
-d '{
    "address_from": "d799c2679e644279b59fe661ac8fa488",
    "address_to": "42236bcf36214f62bcc6d7f12f02a849",
    "parcels": [
        {
            "length": "5",
            "width": "5",
            "height": "5",
            "distance_unit": "cm",
            "weight": "2",
            "mass_unit": "lb",
            "template": "",
            "metadata": "Box1",
            "extra": {
                "insurance": {
                    "amount": 25.00,
                    "currency": "USD",
                    "provider": "FEDEX"
                    }
            }
        },
        {
            "length": "5",
            "width": "10",
            "height": "15",
            "distance_unit": "cm",
            "weight": "6",
            "mass_unit": "lb",
            "template": "",
            "metadata": "Box2",
            "extra": {
                "insurance": {
                    "amount": 50.00,
                    "currency": "USD",
                    "provider": "FEDEX"
                    }
            }
        },
        {
            "length": "2",
            "width": "8",
            "height": "9",
            "distance_unit": "cm",
            "weight": "5",
            "mass_unit": "lb",
            "template": "",
            "metadata": "Box3",
            "extra": {
                "insurance": {
                    "amount": 45.00,
                    "currency": "USD",
                    "provider": "FEDEX"
                    }
            }
        }
    ],
    "async": false
}

Handling Shipment-level and Parcel-level Insurance

If both shipment-level and parcel-level insurance are specified, the parcel-level insurance will take precedence. Parcels without parcel-level insurance will have the shipment-level insurance amount applied to that parcel.

If only shipment-level insurance is specified, then the shipment insurance amount will be applied to each parcel and not divided amongst parcels.

Canceling or Refunding Insurance

Please see our page on Refunds for more info on refunding insured shipments.