Declared Value, in Plain English: What It Covers, What It Doesn't, and How to Pick a Number

Every shipping service asks some version of the same question: what is this worth? The answer looks like paperwork, and most people type a round number and move on. That number is doing more work than it appears to. It caps what the carrier will pay, it can change how the package is handled, and in some cases it decides who is allowed to accept it at the other end.

The Short Version

Declared value is the amount a carrier agrees it may owe you if it loses or damages your shipment. It is a limit of liability, not an insurance policy. FedEx says so directly on its own declared value page: "Declared value is not shipping insurance." You still have to show the item was worth what you claimed, and that the loss happened while the carrier had it.

Insurance is a separate contract, usually bought from an insurer or through your homeowner's or business policy. It follows its own rules, has its own deductible, and doesn't care whose fault the loss was in the same way.

What You Get If You Declare Nothing

Leave the field blank and you still get a baseline. The baselines happen to cluster around the same figure:

So a $1,400 laptop sent with nothing declared is, for claim purposes, a $100 laptop. That surprises people more than any other fact on this page.

What Declared Value Is Not

It isn't a promise of a check for the full number. Carriers pay the lesser of the declared amount and the actual, provable loss. Declare $3,000 on a ring you bought for $1,800 and the receipt, not the form, sets the ceiling.

It isn't coverage for everything inside the box, either. Every service has items it won't carry or won't pay on, and anything packed in violation of those rules can void the claim entirely. Read the prohibited items list before you seal the box, not after something goes wrong.

And it doesn't replace your own policy. If a piece is already scheduled on a jewelry or valuables rider, that rider may cover it in transit too, sometimes with better terms. One phone call to your agent tells you whether you're paying twice.

How to Choose the Number

Use replacement value: what it would cost to buy the same item, or one as close as possible, today. Then make sure you can prove it. Here is how that tends to work by type of item:

New electronics

The order confirmation or receipt is your number and your proof. For a store pickup, the order total is all you need.

Used electronics

Current resale value, not the original price. A three-year-old laptop is worth what the same model sells for now. Screenshots of comparable listings help.

Jewelry and watches

A recent written appraisal. Older appraisals can be well off today's metal prices in either direction.

Art and antiques

The gallery invoice, a dealer's written valuation, or an appraisal. For a piece just sold, the bill of sale.

Documents

Usually the cost of replacing them, not the value of the deal they belong to. A signed purchase agreement for a $600,000 house is not a $600,000 package; it's the time and expense of re-signing. Most document runs need nothing above the baseline.

What to Keep Before It Leaves Your Hands

Claims are won or lost on what existed before the problem. Keep a copy of the receipt or appraisal, a few clear photos of the item and of the packing, any serial numbers, and the booking confirmation showing the value you declared. Keep the original packaging if something arrives damaged, because a claims adjuster will want to see how it was packed. Ask the recipient to photograph damage before they unpack further.

Timelines matter. Every carrier and courier sets a window for reporting a loss or damage and a later deadline for supporting documents. Our Terms of Service give you 72 hours to report a problem and 30 days to send proof. Missing a window is the most avoidable way to lose a claim.

How It Works When You Book With Us

Every delivery we carry includes $100 of coverage at no charge. If what you're sending is worth more, enter its value at checkout and coverage is priced at $2 for every $100, or part of $100, above the first $100, with a $5 minimum. Online checkout accepts values up to $5,000; for anything above that, call (410) 648-FAST before booking. The coverage charge is added after any coupon or account discount and is never discounted itself. You can also choose not to declare a value, in which case the delivery is covered up to the included $100.

A few worked examples, so the math isn't a surprise:

The handling column is the part most services don't offer. Once the declared value reaches $500, the trip becomes a High-Value delivery: it's handed only to the person named at booking, and the courier checks their photo ID and scans the barcode on the back before letting go of it. Nothing worth that much gets left at a door or with whoever answers.

At $1,000 and above, checkout also asks for a short High-Value Shipment Summary before payment: what the item is, what the value is based on, an optional set of photos, and your signature. For a sealed store order it takes under a minute, since the order number and receipt do most of the work. You get a signed PDF of it with your confirmation, which is exactly the kind of record a claim depends on.

When Declaring Isn't Worth It

Not everything needs a number. Routine office paperwork, a replacement part that costs less than the trip, a spare set of office keys: the included $100 covers these, and declaring more just adds cost. The honest test is simple. If losing it would cost you more than $100 to fix, declare it. If it wouldn't, don't.

How a Claim Usually Unfolds

Most people never file one, which is why the process catches them off guard when they do. The steps look roughly the same everywhere:

1. Report it quickly. Call or email as soon as you know, inside the reporting window. Give the tracking or booking number and a short description of what happened.
2. Hold everything. Damaged item, box, padding, labels. Don't throw out or repair anything until the claim is settled or someone tells you in writing that you can.
3. Send the proof. Receipt or appraisal, your before photos, photos of the damage, and the declared value from your booking.
4. Expect questions. How was it packed? Was there damage to the outer box? Who signed for it? The tracking record answers a lot of these for you, which is why photos and signatures at both ends matter.
5. Settlement. Payment is the lesser of the declared value and the documented loss. Repair cost is common for damage; replacement value for loss.

With a driven delivery, step four tends to be short. There's a photo of the package at pickup, a photo at delivery, a signature, and GPS-stamped times for each handoff, so there's little argument about where the item was and when.

For Offices: Who Declares, Sender or Recipient?

Whoever books the delivery sets the declared value, and whoever books is usually the one with the receipt. For a firm sending equipment to an employee, that's the office. For an employee returning a laptop, it's often still the office, booking a pickup from the employee's home. Agree on it before the trip so the person with the paperwork is the one filling in the number.

Offices that send valuables regularly should write a one-line rule for staff: declare anything over a set amount, always with the asset tag or serial in the description. It keeps a busy front desk from sending a $2,000 workstation as if it were a box of folders. If you book often, a standing account keeps the billing in one place.

Questions People Ask

Can I declare more than it's worth to be safe?

You can, but it buys nothing. Any payout is limited to the value you can document, so the extra just raises the price.

Does declaring a value make the delivery slower?

No. It changes who can sign for it, not when it arrives. A High-Value delivery still runs Same-Day, Rush or STAT like any other.

What if the recipient isn't there?

For a High-Value delivery, the courier won't leave it with someone else. Name the person who will actually be there, and give a phone number so the courier can reach them on arrival.

Is my own policy better?

Sometimes. A scheduled rider can be the better coverage for a piece you ship often. Declaring a value with the courier is still useful, because it triggers the ID-checked handoff whether or not you claim on it.

The full process for valuables is on our High-Value Delivery page, and our guide to sending jewelry covers packing and documentation for small, expensive pieces. We dispatch from White Marsh and cover Baltimore City and Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties, including Catonsville and Havre de Grace. When you're ready, book online and the coverage price appears the moment you enter a value.